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LIBRARY 

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University  of  California. 

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KEY  OF  SALVATION. 


BY 


MICHAEL  MULLER,  C.  SS.  R. 

^priest  of  the  Congregation  of  ibt  Post  $)olg  Hcbcenur. 


"Amen,  amen  I  say  to  you:  If  you  ask  the  Father  anything  in  My  name, 
He  will  give  it  you.  Hitherto  you  have  not  asked  anything  in  My  name. 
Aak,  and  youjshall  receive;  that  your  joy  may  be  full."— Johk  xvi.,  23,  24. 


BALTIMORE: 
KELLY    AND    PIET, 

174  Baltimore  Street. 

1868. 


(Imprimatur: 


MART1NU8  JOANNES, 

Archbishop  Balto. 


Die  22  October,  1867. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868,  by 

Very  Rev.  Joseph  Helmpraeciit,  C.  SS.  R.,  Provincial, 

,In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 

District  of  Maryland. 


PREFACE. 


^rjlHE  Jews,  therefore,  murmured  at  Him,  be- 
-L  cause  He  had  said  :  I  am  the  living  bread 
which  came  down  from  heaven."  (John  vi.  41.) 
"  This  murmuring  at  the  doctrine  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is,"  says  St.Cyrillus,  "the  inheritance  which 
was  bequeathed  to  the  Jews  by  their  forefathers,  who 
lived  at  the  time  of  Moses."  Would  to  God  that 
this  inheritance  had  been  transmitted  to  the  Jews 
only  ;  but,  alas !  there  is  no  class  of  men  which  is 
free  from  such  murmurers.  Our  Lord's  doctrine  is 
murmured  at  by  infidels  when  they  hear  Him  say  : 
"  He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  condemned"  (Mark 
xvi.  16)  ....  "  because  he  believeth  not  in  the 
name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God."  (John  iii. 
18.)  The  doctrine  of  our  Lord  is  murmured  at  by 
Protestants,  when  He  declares :  "  Not  every  one 
that  saith  to  Me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  but  he  that  doth  the  will  of  My 
Father  who  is  in  Heaven,  he  shall  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."  (Matt.  vii.  21.)  The  will  of 
God  has  not  been  taught  by  Luther,  or  Calvin,  or 
Henry  VIII.,  or  John  Wesley,  or  by  another  man 
who  invented  certain  doctrines,  and  founded  a  sect 


IfifiHSI 


4  PREFACE. 

according  to  his  own  private  notions,  but  it  has 
been  taught  by  Me,  the  Son  of  God,  Who  have 
charged  Peter  and  his  lawful  successors  to  do  the 
same.  Upon  him  I  have  built  My  Church  ;  to  him 
and  his  lawful  successors  I  have  said :  "  He  who 
heareth  you  heareth  Me,  and  he  that  despiseth  you 
despiseth  Me,  and  he  who  despiseth  Me  despiseth 
Him  that  sent  Me."  One  who  does  not  do  this  will 
be  condemned.  "  There  is  a  way  (the  Protestant 
religion)  that  seemeth  to  a  man  right,  and  the  ends 
therefore  lead  to  death."  (Prov.  xvi.  25.)  Sinners 
murmur  when  our  Blessed  Saviour  preaches:  "I 
say  to  you  that  unless  you  shall  do  penance,  you 
shall  all  likewise  perish."  (Luke  xiii.  3.)  The 
rich  also  complain,  when  He  threatens  "  Woe  to  you 
that  are  rich,  for  you  have  your  consolation." 
(Luke  vi.  24.)  The  poor  are  dissatisfied  when  He 
teaches  :  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit."  (Math. 
v.  3.)  The  learned  reject  His  doctrine  when  he 
warns :  "  Amen  I  say  to  you :  unless  you  be  con- 
verted and  become  as  little  children,  you  shall  not 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  (Math,  xviii. 
3.)  The  young  are  displeased  when  He  exclaims  : 
"  Woe  to  you  that  now  laugh,  for  you  shall  mourn 
and  weep."  (Luke  vi.  25.)  Those  who  are  tempted 
or  afflicted,  murmur  when  He  exhorts  them  by  His 
words  and  example:  "  Not  my  will  but  Thine  be 
done."  (Luke  xxii.  42.)  The  lukewarm  are  dis- 
pleased when   He  tells  them  :   "  Because  thou  art 


PREFACE.  O 

lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  will  begin  to 
vomit  thee  out  of  My  mouth."  (Apoc.  iii.  16.)  Fi- 
nally, the  greater  part  of  men  murmur  at  our  Lord, 
when  He  teaches  :  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  sufFer- 
eth  violence  and  the  violent  bear  it  away."  (Matt, 
xi.  12.)  They  complain  with  the  unfaithful  disci- 
ples of  our  Lord,  "  these  are  hard  sayings  who  can 
hear  them."     (John  vi.  61.) 

There  are  still  many,  it  is  true,  who  will  say  with 
St.  Peter  and  the  other  Apostles  :  "  Lord,  to  whom 
shall  we  go  ?  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life, 
and  we  have  believed  and  have  known  that  Thou 
art  Christ  the  Son  of  God."  (John  vi.  69,  70.)  But 
how  many,  even  among  these,  will  murmur,  not 
indeed  at  Christ's  doctrine,  but  at  heretics,  unbe- 
lievers and  great  sinners?  How  many  are  there 
who,  like  the  Apostles,  not  knowing  of  what  spirit 
they  are,  wish  that  fire  should  come  down  from 
heaven  to  consume  them  (Luke  ix.  54,  55),  for  not 
believing,  in  spite  of  so  many  miracles  and  evident 
proofs,  confirming  the  truth  of  the  Catholic  reli- 
gion ?  To  all  these  our  Lord  answers  with  divine 
sweetness  :  "  Murmur  not  among  yourselves  :  no 
man  can  come  to  Me,  except  the  Father,  who  hath 
sent  Me,  draw  him."  (John  vi.  44.)  As  to  all 
those  of  you,  He  means  to  say,  who  believe  in  Me 
and  live  up  to  My  doctrine,  you  ought  not  to  mur- 
mur at  infidels,  heretics  or  nominal  Christians,  on 
account  of  their  infidelity,  false  belief  or  bad  life,  but 
1* 


t)  PREFACE. 

you  should  remember  that  faith,  especially  practical 
faith,  is  a  supernatural  gift  of  God,  and  that  no  one 
can  have  true  faith  in  Him  unless  it  is  granted  by 
My  heavenly  Father.  Since  they  are  not  as  yet 
drawn  by  the  Father,  you  should  not  feel  indignant 
or  treat  them  with  severity,  but  rather  pray  to  the 
Father  that  He  may  draw  them  sweetly,  but  pow- 
erfully, by  enlightening  their  understanding  to 
know  the  true  faith,  and  by  exciting  their  will  to 
embrace  it  in  practice,  and  thus  they  will  be  united 
with  you  in  the  same  religion. 

But  as  to  you  who  do  not  believe  My  doctrine,  or 
believe  only  a  part  of  it,  or  live  not  according  to  it, 
neither  ought  you  to  murmur  at  Me  and  My  doc- 
trine or  at  those  who  believe  truly  in  Me,  be- 
cause My  Father  has  drawn  them.  Pray  you, 
too,  to  My  Father  that  He  may  draw  you  also,  by 
removing  from  your  understanding  the  darkness 
which  prevents  you  from  knowing  My  Church  and 
the  truths  she  teaches.  Pray  that  He  may  remove 
from  your  heart  the  coldness  and  indifference  which 
prevents  you  from  loving  the  truth,  and  from  your 
will  the  reluctance  and  resistance  which  prevents 
you  from  embracing  it.  For  this  purpose,  you 
should  often  say  to  God  in  all  sincerity  :  "  Our 
Father,  who  art  in  heaven,  if  there  are  still  more 
truths  which  I  must  know  and  practise,  in  order  to 
be  saved,  I  beseech  Thee,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus 
Christ,  permit  me  to  know  them  in  whatever  way  it 


PREFACE.  i 

pleaseth  Thee  to  manifest  them  to  me.  Give  me  a 
good  will  that  I  may  embrace  them  and  practise 
faithfully  what  they  command,  until  the  end  of  my 
life."  If  you  pray  perseveringly,  in  this  manner, 
rest  assured  that  you  also  will  be  drawn  by  My 
Father,  to  live  and  die  with  My  true  followers  in 
the  same  faith.  All  your  unjust  murmurs  and  com- 
plaints would  soon  be  changed  into  joy,  as  I  have 
promised  when  I  said  :  "  Ask  and  you  shall  receive, 
that  your  joy  may  be  full,"  (John  xvi.  24),  for  My 
Father  "is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon  Him," 
(Rom.  x.  12)  in  My  name,  for  the  sake  of  which  I 
will  grant  that  life  of  which  I  have  said:  "  I  am 
come  that  they  may  have  life,  and  have  it  more 
abundantly,"  (John  x.  10),  hereby  My  exuberant 
grace  and  hereafter  by  My  unspeakable  glory. 

This  doctrine,  of  such  vital  importance  for  the 
salvation  of  mankind,  is  too  seldom  preached,  little 
understood,  and  still  less  put  fn  practice,  "  God 
thus  permitting  it,"  says  St.  Alphonsus,  c<  in  pun- 
ishment for  the  sins  of  men." 

"  And  now,  brethren,  as  you  are  the  ancients 
among  the  people  of  God,  and  their  very  soul  rest- 
0th  upon  you,  comfort  their  hearts  by  your  speech" 
(Judith  viii.  21),  by  explaining  to  them,  as  often 
and  as  plainly  as  possible,  the  great  necessity  of 
this  doctrine  on  prayer,  as  well  as  the  right  manner 
of  practising  it,  in  order  to  derive  therefrom  all 
possible  advantago. 


8  PREFACE. 

In  this  book  I  have  tried,  my  dear  reader,  to  do 
this  ;  wherefore,  I  venture  to  assert  that  the  reading 
of  it  will  he  more  profitable  to  you  than  the  peru- 
sal of  any  other  book,  for  the  more  you  read  it  the 
more  you  will  find  this  assertion  to  be  true.  I  pray 
you  to  read  it  again  and  again  with  great  attention, 
not  because  it  is  my  production,  but  because  it  is  a 
means  which  God  offers  you  to  enable  you  to  attain 
eternal  salvation,  thereby  giving  you  to  understand 
that  He  wishes  you  to  be  saved.  When  you  have 
finished  reading  this  book,  induce  as  many  of  your 
friends  as  you  can  to  read  it  also. 

You  must  also  thank  the  Lord  for  what  He 
teaches  you  in  this  book,  u  for  it  is  a  great  mercy," 
says  St.  Alphonsus,  "  when  He  gives  the  light  and 
grace  to  pray  and  to  understand  the  importance  of 
prayer."  "Ah,  my  dear  brethren,"  wrote  Pope 
Celestine  to  the  Bishops  of  France,  "let  prayer 
never  leave  your  hearts,  and  the  grace  and  mercy 
of  God  will  never  leave  your  souls.  Kest  assured 
that  the  Lord  will  never  withdraw  from  you,  nor 
cease  to  enlighten,  guide  and  protect  you  as  long 
as  you  pray  to  Him.  You  complain  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  saving  your  souls  in  the  midst  of  a  corrupt 
world,  in  which  you  are  exposed  to  so  many  dan- 
gers. Do  you  wish  to  escape  them  all  and  to  fear 
none  ?  Arm  yourselves  with  prayer.  Prayer  was 
the  daily  food  and  strength  of  the  prophet ;  it  was 
his  whole  delight ;  he  understood  but  too  well  all 
its  advantages." 


PROTEST  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 


1*N  obedience  to  the  decrees  of  Urban  VIII.  of  holy 
-*-  memory,  I  protest  that  I  do  not  intend  to  attri- 
bute any  other  than  purely  human  authority  to  all 
the  miracles,  revelations,  graces  and  incidents  con- 
tained in  this  book ;  neither  to  the  titles  holy  or 
blessed  applied  to  the  servants  of  God  not  yet  can- 
onized, except  in  cases  where  these  have  been  con- 
firmed by  the  Holy  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  by 
the  Holy  Apostolic  See,  of  whom  I  profess  myself 
an  obedient  son  ;  and,  therefore,  to  their  judgment 
I  submit  myself  and  whatever  I  have  written  in 
this  book. 


O  BLATION. 

MY  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  behold  I  offer  Thee  this  little  work  in 
union  with  that  unspeakable  charity  which  moved  Thee  to 
say:  "Whatsoever  you  ask  the  Father  in  My  name,  that  will  I 
do :  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son.  If  you  ask  Me 
anything  in  My  name,  that  I  will  do."  (John  xiv.  13,  14.)  I 
offer  this  book  to  Thee  on  the  part  of  all  Thy  creatures,  because 
it  is  Thine  ineffable  tenderness  for  them  which  caused  Thee  to 
make  them  so  unlimited  a  promise,  thereby  to  draw  them  to  Thy- 
self and  to  unite  them  to  Thee  eternally.  Take  this  book,  I  be- 
seech Thee,  into  Thy  divine  keeping,  that  it  may  glorify  the  om- 
nipotence of  Thy  Father,  Thy  own  infinite  wisdom  and  the  un- 
speakable love  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  offer  it  to  Thee  in  fervent 
thanksgiving  for  all  the  graces  which  Thou  hast  bestowed  or  wilt 
bestow  through  this  little  work,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
Place  it,  I  beseech  Thee,  upon  Thy  most  merciful  heart,  that  every 
word  contained  therein  may  be  penetrated  with  Thy  divine  sweet- 
ness, and  fertilized  by  the  merits  of  Thy  holy  Life  and  of  Thy 
Five  Wounds.  Consecrate,  by  an  everlasting  benediction,  all  that 
is  said  therein,  that  it  may  promote  the  salvation  of  those  who 
read  it  with  humble  devotion.  Inspire  them  with  an  irresistible 
desire  of  giving  themselves  up  to  prayer,  that  thus  may  be  accom- 
plished that  exceedingly  great  desire  of  Thine  of  manifesting 
Thyself  to  them  in  all  Thy  eternal  goodness  and  charity  ;  take 
them,  as  it  were,  into  Thy  Divine  Heart  as  into  a  safe  harbor  of 
salvation,  and  breathe  into  their  souls  Thy  eternal  Divine  life  and 
truth. 

And  as  I  am  an  utterly  vile  and  unworthy  creature,  I  offer 
Thee,  in  satisfaction  for  all  my  deficiencies  and  omissions,  my 
blindness  and  ignorance,  Thy  own  sweetest  Heart,  ever  full  of 
Divine  thanksgiving  and  eternal  beatitude. 

Dear  Mother  Mary,  do  you  also  pray  to  your  Divine  Son  for  all 
those  who  may  read  this  little  book. 


>>*££ 


CHUE 


CONTENTS. 


Imprimatur 2 

Preface 3 

Protest  of  the  Author 9 

Oblation 10 

Chapter  I — On  the  Necessity  of  Prayer  in  General....     13 
Chapter  II— On  the  Necessity  of  Prayer  for  Sinners...     33 
Chapter  III — On  the  Necessity  of  Prayer  for  the  Just    47 
Chapter  IV — On  the  Necessity  of  Prayer  for  Ecclesi- 
astical Students 6i> 

Chapter  V— On  the  Efficacy  of  the  Prayer  of  the  Just  117 
Chapter  VI — On  the  Conditions  and  Qualities  of  Prayer  140 
i — The  Object  of  our  Prayer  must  be  Law- 
ful   141 

ii — Our  Prayer  must  be  Humble 160 

m — Our  Prayer  must  be  Fervent 165 

iv — Our  Prayer  must  be  followed  by  Amend- 
ment of  Life 177 


12  CONTENTS. 

Chapter  VI — v — Our  Prayer  must  be  United  with  For- 
giveness of  Injuries 187 

vi — Our   Prayer   must  be   United   with 

Good  Works 194 

vn — Our  Prayer  must  be  Confident 200 

vin — Our  Prayer  must  be  Persevering....  231 
Chapter  VII — How  to  Acquire  the  Spirit  of  Prayer. . .  239 

Chapter  VIII — Eulogium  on  Prayer 260 

Prayer — To  Obtain  the  Grace  of  being  Constant   in 

Prayer 265 

Prayer — To  be  said  every  day,  to  obtain  the  Graces 

Necessary  for  Salvation 267 

Prayer  of  Chlodwig,  (Clovis,) 270 

Prayer  for  Guidance  into  Truth 271 

Ejaculation 272 


TREATISE  ON  PRAYER. 


CHAPTER  I. 


OX   TUE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER   IN   GENERAL. 

THERE  is  an  important  truth,  of  which  thou- 
sands of  men  are  ignorant ;  or,  if  they  know  it, 
they  reflect  upon  it  seldom  and  with  little  fruit. 
Yet,  the  knowledge  of  this  truth  is  almost  as  neces- 
sary for  those  who  have  attained  the  age  of  reason, 
as  it  is  for  them  to  know  that  there  is  only  one  God 
in  three  Persons,  and  that  the  Second  Person  became 
man  to  redeem  and  save  us.  The  importance  and  ne- 
cessity of  this  great  truth  seem  to  be  a  mystery,  not 
to  heathens,  Jews,  and  heretics  only,  but  also  to  the 
art  of  Christians,  nay,  even  to  many  of 
those  who  have  especially  consecrated  themselves  to 
We  often  hear  in  sermons  and  read  in  pious 
books  of  the  necessity  of  avoiding  bad  company,  of 
hating  sin,  of  forgiving  injuries,  and  of  being  re- 
iled  with  our  enemies,  but  seldom  are  we  taught 
tills  great  truth  ;  or,  if  it  is  sometimes  spoken  of, 
rarely  is  it  done  in  a  manner  and  with  that  interior 
convi  1  dilated  to  leave  upon  our  minds  and 

2 


14  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OP 

hearts  a  convincing  and  lasting  impression  of  its 
great  importance  and  necessity.  Now,  this  import- 
ant truth  is  that,  morally  speaking,  or  according  to 
the  ordinary  course  of  Divine  Providence,  man  can- 
not be  saved  without  prayer. 

In  order  to  understand  this  truth  in  its  full  ex- 
tent, we  must  consider  : 

First.  That  man  cannot  be  saved  unless  he  will 
have  done  God's  will. 

Secondly.  That  man  is  unable  to  do  God's  will, 
unless  he  is  assisted  by  Divine  grace. 

Thirdly.  That  man  obtains  this  grace  by  prayer 
only  ;  that,  consequently,  man  must  pray  in  order 
to  be  saved. 

First,  I  say,  man  cannot  be  saved  unless  he  will 
have  done  God's  will  on  earth.  The  Lord  declared 
this  will  in  express  terms  when  He  said  to  Adam  : 
"  And  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil 
thou  shalt  not  eat ;  for  in  what  day  soever  thou 
shalt  eat  of  it,  thou  shalt  die  the  death."  (Gen  ii., 
17.)  By  this  commandment,  man  was  evidently 
given  to  understand  that  the  continuation  of  his 
happiness  for  time  and  eternity,  depended  upon  his 
obedience  to  the  will  of  God.  To  be  undisturbed 
by  any  irregular  affections  or  disorderly  passions 
and  to  perpetuate  his  happiness  to  his  posterity,  was 
entirely  optional  with  him.  If  he  made  a  right  use 
of  his  liberty,  by  always  following  the  law  and  will 
of  God,  if  he  bore  unsullied  the  image  and  likeness 


PRAYER   IN   GENERAL.  15 

of  his  Creator,  as  a  true  son  of  his  Father,  to  Whom 
he  owed  filial  affection  as  a  good  servant  of  his  Mas- 
ter, Whom  he  was  to  fear  and  honor,  as  a  brave  sol- 
dier of  his  King,  to  Whom  he  owed  fidelity,  as  a  wise 
steward  and  administrator  of  the  goods  of  his  Lord  ; 
in  fine,  if  he  made  proper  use  of  the  creatures  con- 
fided to  his  care  and  dispensation,  then  he  would  re- 
ceive the  crown  of  life  everlasting,  in  reward  for  his 
fidelity  to  the  law  and  will  of  his  Creator.  But  to 
swerve  from  this  divine  will  for  one  moment  only, 
thus  declaring  himself  independent  of  it,  as  it  were, 
would  be  subjecting  himself  to  the  law  of  God's 
justice,  which  would  not  fail  to  execute  the  threat- 
ened punishment. 

Did  God  afterwards,  in  consideration  of  the  most 
abundant  efficacy  of  the  Redemption,  lay  down  other 
and  easier  conditions  for  man's  happiness  and  sal- 
vation? He  did  not  change  His  will  one  jot. 
Man's  happiness  was  to  depend  on  his  obedience 
and  submission  to  the  divine  will.  "  Now,  if  thou 
wilt  hear  the  voice  of  the  Lord  Thy  God  to  do  and 
keep  all  His  commandments,  the  Lord  Thy  God  will 
make  thee  higher  than  all  the  nations  that  are  on 
the  earth,  and  all  these  blessings  shall  come  upon 
thee,  and  overtake  thee,  yet  so  if  thou  hear  His 
precepts."  (Deut.  xxviii.  1,  2.)  And  Jesus  Christ, 
the  restorer  of  grace,  says  :  "  You  are  My  friends 
if  you  do  the  things  that  I  command  you."  (John 
xv.  14.)     And  again  :  "  Not  everyone  that  saith  to 


16  OX   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

Me  :  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  but  he  that  doth  the  will  of  My  Father, 
Who  is  in  heaven,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  (Matt,  vii.,  21.)  He  Himself  gave  the 
example,  having  been  obedient  even  unto  the  death 
of  the  cross,  thereby  teaching  all  men  that  their 
salvation  depends  on  their  persevering  obedience  to 
the  will  of  their  heavenly  Father,  Who  sent  the 
Kedeemer,  not  only  to  ransom  their  souls,  but  also 
to  show  them  the  true  road  to  heaven,  by  revealing 
to  them  the  will  of  His  Father.  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Eedeemer,  appointed  the  Apostles,  and  especially 
Peter,  to  succeed  Him  in  His  office  of  teaching  God's 
will.  Where  Peter  and  the  other  Apostles  are 
found  in  their  lawful  successors,  there  only  is  this 
true  and  entire  will  of  God  taught,  and  those  only 
who  embrace  and  follow  it  faithfully,  have  well- 
founded  hopes  of  salvation.  They  who  follow  any 
other  rule  to  obtain  salvation,  deceive  themselves. 
Instead  of  God's  will,  they  do  their  own,  or  follow 
the  suggestions  of  the  devil  or  those  of  evil-minded, 
perverse  teachers,  who  substitute  their  own  will, 
their  own  meditations,  thoughts,  opinions,  and 
judgment  for  the  will  of  God.  They  imitate  Adam 
and  Eve,  who  believed  the  devil's  suggestions, 
rather  than  the  infallible  word  of  God. 

This  great  truth,  that  man  must  do  God's  will  in 
order  to  be  saved,  should  ever  be  remembered  by  all 
those  who  wish  to  walk  sincerely  before  God,  and 


PRAYER   IN   GENERAL.  17 

* 

to  save  their  souls.  But  the  mere  knowledge  and 
remembrance  of  it  will  not  contribute  to  their  salva- 
tion any  more  than  this  same  knowledge  and  remem- 
brance did  to  the  salvation  of  our  first  parents. 

Besides  this  truth,  another,   no  less  important, 
must  be  borne  in  mind,  namely  : 

Always  to  be  mindful  of  God's  will ;  always  to 
honor,  appreciate  and  love  it  above  all  things  ;  al- 
ways to  understand  that  to  embrace  and  follow  it 
most  punctually,  cheerfully  and  promptly,  is  to 
embrace  inseparably  eternal  happiness  and  the  very 
Source  of  Life  ;  always  to  see  clearly  that  whatever 
is  contrary  to  it  can  never  be  good  or  meritorious, 
nay,  must  be  death  to  the  soul,  to  return  to  it  after 
having  left  it, — to  cling  to  it  when  in  possession  of 
it,  is,  in  itself,  by  no  means  the  wTork  of  human 
strength,  but  is  absolutely  the  effect  of  divine  grace  ; 
f«»r,  if  faith  teaches  us  that  God  made  all  things 
very  good,  it  also  teaches  us  that  they  cannot  re- 
main so  of  themselves  without  God's  assistance,  as 
otherwise  they  would  cease  to  be  dependent  on  Him, 
which  is  just  as  impossible  for  us  to  imagine  as  it  is 
to  believe  a  logical  conclusion  could  be  right  with- 
out right  premises,  or  that  a  river  could  flow  per- 
petually without  a  never-failing  source.  It  is  the 
Lord  Who  must  preserve  them  in  their  good  condi- 
tion, especially  rational  creatures,  men,  because,  by 
their  own  free  will,  they  have  it  in  their  power  to 
swerve  from  God's  will  and  law. 
2* 


18  ON  THE  NECESSITY   OF 

For  this  reason  Jesus  Christ  said  :  "  Without  Me 
you  can  do  nothing"— on  which  words  St.  Augus- 
tine remarks  that  Jesus  Christ  did  not  say  :  "  With- 
out Me  you  cannot  accomplish  anything,"  but  He 
said:  "You  cannot  do  anything."  He  means  to 
say  that  without  His  grace  we  are  not  even  able  to 
commence  any  good  work.  "  If  this  light  of  faith," 
said  our  Lord  to  St.  Catherine  of  Sienna,  "  shineth 
to  thee,  thou  wilt  understand  that  I,  thy  God,  know 
better  how  to  promote  thy  welfare,  and  have  a 
greater  desire  to  do  so  than  thou  thyself,  and  that 
thou,  without  My  grace,  neither  wouldst  nor  couldst 
promote  it."  This  very  thing  is  taught  by  St. 
Paul.  In  his  second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  he 
writes  thus:  "Not  that  we  are  sufficient  to  think 
anything  of  ourselves,  as  of  ourselves,  but  our  suf- 
ficiency is  from  God."  (Chap.  iii.  5.)  The  Apos- 
tle means  to  say  that,  of  ourselves,  we  are  not  even 
able  to  think  of  any  good  and  meritorious  thing. 
Now,  if  we  are  not  able  to  think  of  anything  good, 
how  muck  less  able  are  we  to  wish  for  anything 
good.  "  It  is  God,"  he  writes  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Philippians,  "  Who  worketh  in  you  both  to  will 
and  to  accomplish  according  to  His  good  will." 
(Chap.  ii.  13.)  The  same  thing  had  long  before 
been  declared  by  God  through  the  mouth  of  the 
Prophet  Ezechiel : ■  "  I  will  cause  you  to  walk  in  My 
commandments  and  keep  My  judgments  and  do 
them."     (Chap,  xxxvi.  27.)     Consequently,  accord- 


PRAYER   IX    GENERAL.  19 

ing  to  the  teachings  of  St.  Leo  L,  man  works  only 
so  much  good  as  God,  by  His  grace,  grants  him  to 
work.  Hence  it  is  an  article  of  our  holy  faith,  con- 
demning the  erroneous  doctrine  of  Pelagius,  that 
no  one  can  do  the  least  good  work,  with  merit  for 
heaven,  without  God's  particular  grace  and  assist- 
ance. All  this  being  true,  shall  we  believe  that  the 
fall  of  our  first  parents,  and  the  sins  of  all  their 
descendants,  cannot  be  imputed  to  them,  saying 
that,  as  God  did  not  keep  them  good,  by  making 
them  honor,  love,  and  follow  His  will  and  law,  they 
could  not  help  losing  His  grace  and  so  many  nat- 
ural and  supernatural  gifts  ?  To  maintain  this 
would,  undoubtedly,,  be  the  height  of  blasphemy. 
Hence  we  must  necessarily  come  to  the  following 
conclusion  :  It  is  certain,  first,  that  man  is  good  in 
the  sight  of  God,  and  has  well-founded  hopes  of 
salvation  only  in  proportion  as  he  lives  up  to  the 
will  of  God  ;  secondly,  that  man  cannot,  by  his  own 
power,  keep  his  will  good,  so  as  always  to  follow 
God's  will  under  all  circumstances  ;  God,  therefore, 
must  have  given  him  an  infallible  means,  by  the 
use  of  which  he  can  preserve  his  innocence,  or  by 
the  neglect  of  which  lie  will  become  guilty  before 
God. 

The  use  of  this  means  must  be  considered  as  a 
third  great  and  essential  truth  in  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. Now,  common  sense  tells  every  person  to  call 
for  the  assistance  of  another  where  his  own  means 


20  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

are  insufficient  to  preserve  or  obtain  a  necessary- 
thing.  Adam  and  Eve  knew  this  truth  very  well, 
but,  neglecting  to  call  for  God's  assistance,  espe- 
cially when  put  to  trial,  they  lacked  the  efficacious 
grace  necessary  to  render  their  will  firm  in  keeping 
the  commandments  of  God  and  thus  preserve  all 
their  temporal  and  spiritual  happiness.  Hence 
their  fall  was  their  own  fault.  We  may,  then, 
fairly  conclude  that  the  whole  mystery  of  man's  sal- 
vation and  sanctification  depends  entirely  on  his 
constant  and  proper  use  of  this  means  of  prayer. 
"As  God  in  the  natural  order,"  says  St.  Alphonsus, 
"  ordained  that  man  should  be  born  naked  and  in 
want  of  many  things  necessary  for  life,  and  as,  at 
the  same  time,  He  has  given  him  hands  and  under- 
standing to  clothe  himself  and  provide  for  his  other 
necessities,  so,  in  the  supernatural  order,  man  is 
born  unable  to  remain  good  and  obtain  salvation  by 
his  own  strength  ;  but  God,  in  His  infinite  good- 
ness, granting  to  every  one  the  grace  of  prayer, 
wishes  him  to  make  constant  use  of  this  grace  in 
order  thereby  to  obtain  all  other  graces  which  he 
needs  to  be  enabled  to  keep  the  commandments  of 
the  Lord  and  be  saved."  Prayer  is,  indeed,  a  uni- 
versal and  infallible  means  for  man  to  keep  up  his 
relation  between  his  Creator  and  himself.  Now, 
this  is,  first,  a  relation  of  continual  dependence  on 
God's  goodness.  By  praying,  man  professes  his 
belief  in   this    dependence.     As  the  subjects  of  a 


PRAYER   IX   GENERAL.  21 

king  acknowledge  their  dependence  on  their  sove- 
reign by  paying  the  taxes  he  lays  upon  them,  so, 
by  offering  up  to  the  Almighty  the  tribute  of  his 
prayer,  man  acknowledges  himself  to  be  a  constant 
mendicant  before  his  Creator,  always  depending  on 
God's  goodness  for  food,  protection  and  preserva- 
tion, both  temporal  and  spiritual. 

Secondly.  It  is  a  relation  of  faith.  Man  does  not 
see  his  Lord  and  God  ;  yet  he  must  not,  on  that  ac- 
count, less  firmly  believe  in  Him.  By  praying  he 
professes  his  faith  in  an  omnipotent,  most  wise,  most 
bountiful  God,  believing  that  the  Lord  knows  and 
is  able  to  grant  what  is  asked  of  Him. 

Thirdly.  It  is  a  relation  of  hope.  Man  should 
hope  that  God  will  give  him  all  the  necessaries  of  life 
here  below,  and  life  everlasting  in  the  world  to  come. 
By  praying  to  the  Lord,  he  professes  his  hope  in  a 
most  benevolent  God,  trusting  that  he  will  really 
receive  from  Him  everything  necessary  in  time  and 
in  eternity.  What  often  troubles  and  disquiets  so 
many  souls,  is  the  uncertainty  of  their  salvation  ; 
hut.  according  to  the  Apostle,  our  hope  for  salva- 
tion ought  to  be  immovable,  firm,  and  secure.  It 
will  be  so,  undoubtedly,  if  it  rest  upon  two  certain 
foundations,  one  on  the  part  of  God  and  the  other 
on  the  part  of  man.  The  certain  foundation,  or  the 
•certain  motives  on  the  part  of  God,  on  which  our 
hope  of  salvation  rests,  are  the  power,  the  mercy 
And   the  truth  of  God,  and  of  these  the  strongest 


22  ON    THE    NECESSITY    OF 

and  most  certain  motive  is  God's  infallible  faith- 
fulness to  His  promise  which  He  has  made  to  us 
through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  save  us  and 
give  us  the  graces  necessary  for  our  salvation.  This 
promise,  I  say,  is  the  strongest  of  all  the  motives  of 
our  hope  of  salvation,  because,  though  we  might 
believe  God  to  be  infinite  in  power  and  mercy,  nev- 
theless,  as  Juvenino  well  observes,  we  could  not  feel 
confident  of  God  saving  us  unless  He  had  given  us 
the  certain  promise  of  doing  so.  But  this  infallible 
promise  of  God  will  not  be  fulfilled  unless  we  pray 
to  Him  for  our  salvation.  Hence,  the  foundation  of 
our  hope  for  salvation  will  be  certain  on  our  part  also 
if  we  pray  to  God  for  His  grace  and  for  faithful  co- 
operation with  it.  As  our  hope  of  salvation  rests 
upon  an  immovable,  firm  and  secure  foundation  on 
the  part  of  God,  and  God  giving  every  one  the 
grace  to  pray,  no  one  can  reasonably  fear  to  be  lost 
if  he  really  perseveres  in  prayer  for  his  salvation. 
With  St.  Alphonsus  he  may  say  in  truth  :  "  I  never 
feel  more  confident  of  my  salvation  than  when  pray- 
ing." This  is  easy  to  understand.  My  confidence 
to  obtain  from  my  friend  what  he  has  promised  to 
me,  will  be  so  much  the  greater  the  better  I  know 
his  power,  goodness  and  fidelity  in  keeping  his 
promises.  Now,  the  oftener  I  speak  to  my  friend, 
the  better  will  I  become  acquainted  with  his  virtues. 
Prayer  being  a  conversation  with  God,  my  confi- 
dence in  Him  will  increase  so  much  the  more,  the 


PRAYER   IN   GENERAL.  23 

oftener  I  speak  to  Him  in  prayer,  in  which  He  will 
deign  to  make  Himself  known  to  me,  as  He  has 
promised  in  the  gospel  of  St.  John,  chap,  xiv.,  21. 
Thus  prayer  is  truly  the  mother  and  nurse  of  hope. 

Fourthly.  It  is  a  relation  of  charity.  By  prayer, 
man  keeps  up  and  increases  this  golden  virtue, 
which  is  the  queen  of  all  virtues.  Prayer  brings 
the  soul  near  to  God.  It  is  like  the  magnetic  fluid 
which  passes  over  the  telegraph  wire  from  one  ope- 
rator to  another.  By  its  means  they  communicate 
to  each  other  different  affairs  in  the  same  instant, 
on  account  of  the  swiftness  with  which  the  fluid 
passes.  They  may  thus  be  considered  to  be  close 
together,  although  they  are  really  very  distant  from 
each  other.  Prayer  brings  man  closer  to  God  than 
the  magnetic  fluid  does  two  telegraph  operators,  the 
swiftness  of  the  former  being  far  greater  than  that 
of  the  latter.  Through  this  conductor  of  prayer 
man  sends  to  God  all  his  messages  for  his  temporal 
and  spiritual  necessities,  and,  in  a  moment,  all  the 
gifts  and  treasures  of  grace  are  sent,  in  return,  to 
the  soul  of  man,  the  likeness  and  image  of  the  great 
and  perfect  Original.  Who  can  doubt  that,  by  this 
close  intercourse  of  the  soul  with  God,  the  fire  of 
divine  love  will  be  enkindled  and  increased  in  a 
most  wonderful  manner  ? 

Fifthly.  The  relation  between  God  and  man  is 
tlmtof  a  father  to  his  son.  Now,  God,  as  Father, 
feels   an   unspeakable   desire   to  communicate  His 


24  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

benefits  to  man.  "My  delight  is  to  be  with  the 
children  of  men."  (Eccles.)  By  the  constant  use 
of  prayer,  man  is  to  furnish  God  with  frequent  op- 
portunities to  make  known  to  him  His  ineffable 
sweetness  and  communicate  to  him  the  gifts  of  His 
inexhaustible  treasures,  requiring  for  them  no  more 
than  the  price  of  his  prayer,  notwithstanding  their 
infinite  value. 

This  infinite  desire  of  God  to  bestow  upon  His 
image  and  likeness,  the  riches  of  His  Divinity,  will 
manifest  itself  to  excess  in  heaven.  The  Lord 
created  man  to  be  the  head,  king,  and  crown  of 
nature;  but  He  Himself  wishes  to  be  man's  crown, 
in  heaven.  "And  I  shall  be  thy  exceedingly  great 
reward/'  He  said  to  Abraham.  On  the  part  of 
man,  this  crown  should  be  merit  for  having  done 
freely  and  faithfully  God's  will  on  earth ;  on  the 
part  of  God  it  should  be  grace,  and  therefore  all 
the  honor  and  glory  thereof  should  redound  to  Him. 
By  prayer  this  two-fold  end  is  obtained  also  ;  for  by 
it  man  obtains  and  preserves  the  good  will  always 
to  live  up  to  God's  holy  will.  But  prayer  being  a 
gratuitous  gift  of  the  Lord,  all  its  effects  must  be  so 
likewise,  effects  partaking  of  the  nature  of  their 
cause.  Hence,  according  to  St.  Augustine,  the  Lord 
rewarding  man  in  heaven  for  his  free  submission 
to  the  divine  will  on  earth,  by  bestowing  Himself 
upon  man,  the  Original  upon  Its  likeness,  does 
nothing  else  than  crown  Himself  as  it  were,  man's. 


PRAYER   IN    GENERAL.  25 

creation,  meritorious  life,  and  happy  death,  being 
altogether  the  gratuitous  gift  and  effect  of  His  un- 
bounded love  for  His  image  and  likeness.  Thus  it 
is  true  what  St.  Paul  says  :  "  What  hast  thou,  that 
thou  hast  not  received  ?  And  if  thou  hast  received, 
why  dost  thou  glory,  as  if  thou  hadst  not  received  ?" 
(I  Cor.  iv.,  7.)  "  For  of  Him,  aud  by  Him  and 
in  Him  are  all  things  :  to  Him  be  glory  forever. 
Amen."  (Rom.  xi.,  36.)  Oh,  great  and  admirable 
wisdom  of  God,  which  has  established  for  man's 
salvation  and  sanctification  so  easy  and  so  infallible 
a  means  as  that  of  prayer  !  What  can  be  more  im- 
portant and  more  essential  for  man  than  the  faith- 
ful fulfilment  of  this  duty  of  praying?  And  yet, 
strange  and  painful  to  say,  what  is  less  understood, 
less  anxiously  attended  to  than  this  duty  ?  The  ne- 
glect, forgetful ness,  or  ill  performance  of  this  duty 
has  ever  been  the  true  source  of  all  moral  evils, 
even  of  infidelity  and  idolatry  themselves.  The 
more  man  neglects  to  communicate  with  God,  the 
true  life  of  his  soul,  the  more  he  will  experience  the 
weakness  of  his  will  to  resist  sin  and  vice  ;  his  pas- 
sions, the  temptations  of  the  devil  and  the  allure- 
ments of  the  world  will  draw  him  headlong  from 
one  abyss  of  religious  errors  and  moral  evils  into 
another.  When  in  imminent  danger  of  death  or 
of  a  considerable  loss  of  fortune,  as,  for  instance, 
:ip\vreck  or  fire,  or  the  like,  the  greater  part  of 
men  will,  indeed,  remember  their  duty  of  praying 
3 


26  ON    THE   NECESSITY   OF 

to  God,  as  the  only  one  who  can  save  them  from 
death.  In  such  dangers  even  infidels  will  take  off 
the  mask  of  their  infidelity  and  make  a  profession 
of  faith  in  an  Omnipotent  God,  crying  out :  "  Lord 
save  us!  We  are  perishing!  Lord,  have  mercy 
on  us, — spare  our  lives, — save  us  from  this  fatal  ac- 
cident !"  This  case  excepted,  the  most  of  men  do 
not  care  for  prayer.  Would  to  God  they  loved  their 
souls  as  much  as  their  bodies  and  the  perishable 
goods  of  this  world  !  Would  to  God  they  under- 
stood the  danger  in  which  they  are  of  being  damned 
to  the  everlasting  pains  of  hell !  Certainly,  they 
would  just  as  naturally  feel  impelled  to  pray  to  the 
Almighty  for  the  grace  of  their  conversion  and 
final  salvation. 

But,  alas  !  they  love  the  darkness  of  their  evil 
ways  more  than  the  necessary  practice  of  the  pre- 
cept of  prayer.  Hence,  as  the  Lord  in  the  Old 
Testament  found  it  necessary  to  give  to  His  people 
the  precepts  of  the  Decalogue,  not  indeed  as  new 
laws,  but  rather  as  a  renewal  and  development  of 
the  law  of  nature,  the  divine  light  of  which  was 
obscured  and  almost  extinguished^  by  the  crimes 
and  perversity  of  man,  so  in  like  manner,  the  same 
Lord  of  all  goodness,  Who  never  delights  in  the 
spiritual  death  of  man,  but  wishes,  like  a  celebrated 
artist,  to  see,  by  means  of  prayer,  the  natural  fresh- 
ness of  life  preserved  in  His  own  image  and  like- 
ness, in  the  soul  of  man,  the  master-piece  of  crea- 


PRAYER   IN    GENERAL.  27 

Hon,  the  Lord,  I  say,  has  never  failed  to  call  man's 
attention  to  the  importance  and  necessity  of  this 
practical  truth.  He  has  declared  it  in  most  distinct 
language  on  almost  every  page  of  Holy  Scripture. 
"  Seek  ye  the  Lord,"  He  says  by  theKoyal  Prophet, 
"and  be  strenghened :  seek  His  face  evermore." 
(Ps.  civ.,  4.)  "  Let  nothing  keep  thee  from  pray- 
ing always."  (Eccles.  xviii.,  22.)  What  God 
inculcated  so  clearly  in  the  old  law,  is  still  more 
clearly  and  more  forcibly  inculcated  by  Jesus  Christ 
in  the  new  law.  "  And  He  spoke  a  parable  to 
them  that  they  ought  always  to  pray  and  not  to 
faint."  (Luke  xviii.,  1.)  And  again:  ".  Watch 
ye  and  pray."  (Matt,  xxvii.,  41.)  This  precept, 
always  to  pray  and  not  faint,  was  taught  and  em- 
phatically inculcated  in  His  name  by  the  Apostles 
also.  "  But  we  will  give  ourselves  continually  to 
prayer,"  says  St.  Peter.  (Acts  vi.,  4.)  "By  all 
prayer  and  supplication,"  writes  St.  Paul  to  the 
Ephesians,  "  praying  at  all  times  in  spirit  and  in 
the  same  watching  with  all  instance  and  supplica- 
tion for  all  saints."  (Ephes.  vi.,  18.)  And  again  : 
"Be  instant  in  prayer,  watching  in  it  in  thanks- 
giving." And  to  the  Thessalonians  he  writes  : 
"Pray  without  ceasing."  (IThessal.  v.,  17.)  And 
to  His  beloved  disciple  Timothy:  "I  will,  there- 
fore, that  men  pray  in  every  place,  lifting  up  pure 
hands  without  anger  and  contention."  (I  Timothy 
ii.,  8.)     Can  the  necessity  of  prayer  be  more  clearly 


28  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

and  more  forcibly  expressed  than  it  is  in  these  pas- 
sages of  Holy  Scripture  ?  It  is  not  said  in  any  of 
them  that  it  is  well  to  pray,  or  that  you  may  pray, 
you  are  at  liberty  to  do  so,  and  the  like.  No  ;  in 
most  distinct  language  it  is  said  :  '  You  must  pray/ 
c  pray.'  Neither  is  it  said  l  you  must  pray  now  and 
then/  No,  but  (  you  must  pray  always,'  '  without 
ceasing  ;'  you  must  '  not  faint'  in  prayer,  you  must 
watch  in  it  'at  all  times'  and  'in  all  places.'  All 
these  expressions  imply,  according  to  St.  Alphonsus 
and  other  theologians  of  the  Church,  a  formal  pre- 
cept of  God  to  pray,  so  much  so,  that,  in  their  opin- 
ion, a  man  who  would  not  pray  for  a  month,  could 
not  be  excused  from  mortal  sin. 

Had  we  then  no  other  evidence  for  believing  in 
the  necessity  of  prayer  than  the  fact  that  Jesus 
Christ  and  His  Apostles  have  always  inculcated 
and  insisted  upon  it  with  so  much  force,  this  fact 
alone  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  convince  us  of  its 
necessity  and  make  us  profess  our  practical  belief  in 
it  by  continual  application  to  this  holy  exercise. 
For,  as  we  firmly  believe  that  there  are  three  per- 
sons in  God,  without  requiring  any  other  evidence 
for  this  belief  than  the  certainty  of  the  fact  that 
Jesus  Christ  Himself  taught  this  truth,  so  in  like 
manner  ought  we  to  be  firmly  convinced  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  prayer  for  the  simple  reason  that  Jesus 
Christ  Himself  taught  it  in  most  express  and  clear 
language,  because  being  God  and  truth  itself,  He 


PRAYER  IN   GENERAL.  29 

could  never  have  taught  anything  to  be  necessary 
unless  it  were  really  so. 

But  as  there  is  no  more  persuasive  way  of  instruc- 
tion than  by  example,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  adopted 
this  mode  of  teaching  us  the  necessity  of  prayer, 
even  before  He  taught  it  by  His  word.  Is  it  not 
truly  strange  and  surprising  to  behold  the  Son  of 
God,  Eternal  Wisdom  Itself,  Who  came  into  this 
world  to  teach  men  the  way  of  salvation,  to  instruct 
them  in  the  truths  of  eternal  life  ;  Who,  in  His 
childhood,  might  have  preached  and  wrought  mira- 
cles for  the  conversion  of  sinners  just  as  easily  as  in 
His  advanced  age  of  thirty  years  ;  is  it  not  very  sur- 
prising, I  say,  to  see  Him  spend  thirty  years  in 
retirement  and  obscurity,  unknown  to  the  world, 
and  losiDg,  according  to  our  manner  of  judging,  His 
precious  time  and  life  which  it  would  seem  He  would 
have  spent  more  profitably  in  teaching  men  and 
converting  them  from  their  evil  ways  ?  But,  if  a 
wise  man  does  nothing  without  a  wise  intention, 
how  wise,  then,  must  have  been  the  intention  of 
Jesus  Christ,  Supreme  Wisdom  Itself,  in  spending 
thirty  years  of  His  life  in  retirement  and  solitude, 
and  three  years  only  in  teaching  publicly  I  Truly, 
whosoever  does  not  feel  struck  by  this  fact  in  our 
Saviour's  life  must  never  have  seriously  reflected 
i  it,  or  must  feel  quite  indifferent  towards  what- 
ever He  has  done  for  us  during  His  mortal  career. 
Now,  what  was  His  principal  occupation  during  the 
3* 


30  OS   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

space  of  thirty  years  ?  It  was  prayer — continual 
prayer.  No  one,  however,  will  believe  and  say  that 
Jesus  Christ  stood  in  need  of  it.  But  it  was  neces- 
sary that  we  should  learn  the  necessity  of  prayer 
for  our  salvation,  and  be  convinced  of  it  more  by 
His  example  than  by  His  words.  Thirty  years  of 
His  life  were  consecrated  to  this  holy  exercise,  and 
three  years  only  to  the  instruction  of  the  people, 
and  even  of  this  short  period  of  three  years  He 
spent  the  greater  part  in  prayer.  How  often  did 
He  not  say  to  His  disciples:  "  Withdraw  a  little 
from  the  multitude?"  And  for  what  purpose?  In 
order  to  be  more  at  liberty  to  pray.  Moreover,  do 
we  not  read  in  the  Gospel  that,  after  having  spent 
the  day  in  instructing  the  people,  He  would  retire 
to  a  lonesome  mountain,  there  to  spend  the  whole 
night  in  prayer?  "And  it  came  to  pass  that  He 
went  out  into  a  mountain  to  pray,  and  He  passed 
the  whole  night  in  prayer  of  God."  (Luke  vi.  12.) 
This  was  a  custom  of  our  Saviour,  as  we  may  gather 
from  the  fact  that  Judas,  the  traitor,  did  not  go 
with  the  soldiers  to  seek  Him  in  the  city  of  Jerusa- 
lem, but  went  straight  on  to  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
because  He  knew  that  Jesus  was  accustomed  to  go 
to  that  place  to  pray  during  the  night. 

Again,  wishing  to  be  glorified  by  His  Heavenly 
Father,  He  prayed  for  it.  "And  lifting  up  His 
eyes  to  heaven,  He  said:  "Father,  the  hour  is 
come,  glorify  Thy  Son."     (John  xi.  1.)     On  this 


PRAYER  IN   GENERAL.  31 

prayer  Father  Crasset,  S.  J.,  comments  thus  : 
"  Jesus  prays  His  Father  to  glorify  His  body.  Was 
it  not  His  due  ?  Had  He  not  merited  it  ?  Could 
His  Father  refuse  Him  ?  Why  did  He  ask  it  ? 
God  did  not  design  to  grant  any  favor  to  man,  not 
even  to  His  Divine  Son,  except  by  means  of  prayer, 
which  is  t^ie  channel  through  which  all  graces 
flow.  'Ask,  My  Son/  saith  He,  '  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  and  I  will  give  them  to  Thee  for  Thy 
inheritance.'  Jesus  merited  the  empire  of  the 
whole  universe,  notwithstanding  which  He  obtained 
it  only  after  asking  it."  And  how  did  He  close  His 
life  on  earth  ?  Was  it  not  by  most  touching  prayer  ? 
"  Father,  into  Thy  hands  I  commend  My  spirit." 
(Luke  xxiii.  46.)  Thus  His  life,  from  the  begin- 
in  g  to  the  end,  was  but  a  continual  practice  of 
prayer.  His  glorious  life  is  not  less  so.  He  still 
continues  to  pray  for  us  in  heaven,  according  to  St. 
Paul :  ' c  Who  also  intercedes  for  us  with  His  Hea- 
venly Father."  He  has  been  doing  this  for  more 
than  eighteen  hundred  years,  and  He  will  continue 
to  do  so  to  the  end  of  the  world.  He  likewise  inter- 
cedes for  us  in  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  ;  for  Mass 
is,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
a  sacrifice  of  impetration,  in  which  Jesiis  Christ 
asks  of  His  Heavenly  Father  everything  necessary 
for  our  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare.  Now,  if  we 
consider  that  Mass  is  said  at  every  hour  of  the  day, 
it  follows  that  Jesus  Christ,  for  more  than  eighteen 


32  ON   THE  NECESSITY   OF 

hundred  years,  has  been  praying  for  us  under  the 
Sacramental  Species,  and  that  He  will  continue  to 
do  so  at  every  hour  until  the  end  of  the  world. 
Truly,  if  this  example  of  our  Saviour  does  not  open 
the  eyes  of  our  understanding  and  convince  us  of 
the  necessity  of  prayer,  it  will  be  in  vain  to  look 
for  other  and  more  striking  proofs  in  support  and 
confirmation  of  this  truth.  Hence  St.  Augustine 
remarks:  (De  Orat.  Dominica)  "If  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  happy  in  and  by 
Himself,  and  standing  in  no  need  of  anything  what- 
soever, prays,  shall  man,  misery  itself,  not  pray  ? 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Divine  Physician,  lies  prostrate  in 
prayer,  and  man,  sick  in  body  and  soul,  shoul '.  not 
humble  himself  to  pray?  Jesus  Christ,  innocence 
itself,  prays,  and  man,  laden  with  sin,  should  not 
pray  ?  Jesus  Christ,  the  judge  of  the  living  and 
the  dead,  prays,  and  guilty  man  should  not  pray  ? 
St.  Augustine  means  to  say  that  Jesus  Christ 
came  into  this  world  to  instruct  us  both  by  His 
words  and  example  :  "  I  have  given  you  an  exam- 
ple, that  as  I  have  done,  so  do  you  also."  (John 
xiii.  15.)  And  to  leave  this  example  of  His  unno- 
ticed, as  it  were,  is  to  have  lost  common  sense,  to 
forsake  the  order  of  God's  goodness  in  order  to  en- 
ter into  that  of  His  justice  ;  to  leave  Him  as  a  friend 
in  order  to  have  Him  for  an  enemy  ;  to  give  up  the 
ways  of  His  consolation  in  order  to  enter  into  those 
of  His  severity  ;  to  fly  from  His  beneficent  will  in 


FRAYER   FOR   SINNERS.  33 

•order  to  fall  under  the  effects  of  His  powerful  will. 
Not  to  follow  our  Lord's  example  in  prayer  is  to 
make  all  our  steps  wandering,  our  paths  perilous, 
our  plans  illusions,  our  works  useless,  our  pleasures 
miseries,  our  prosperity  chastisement,  our  adversity 
and  afflictions  despair,  our  existence  a  hell  wherein 
we  shall  only  know  bitter  tears  and  sighs.  On  the 
contrary,  to  follow  this  example,  is  to  place  our- 
selves in  perpetual  rest  and  security,  to  oblige  the 
Wisdom  of  God  to  govern  us,  His  Power  to  defend 
us,  His  Goodness  to  console  us,  His  Grace  to  sanc- 
tify us,  His  Mercy  to  encompass  us,  His  Sanctity  to 
purify  us,  His  Happiness  to  defend  us  from  evil  and 
sustain  us  in  good,  and  to  make  all  succeed  and  go 
well  with  us,  according  to  our  wishes  for  time  and 
■eternity. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER   FOR   SINNERS. 

AFTER  having  shown  so  much  at  length  the 
necessity  of  prayer  in  general,  it  might  seem 
almost  useless  to  show  this  necessity  for  sinners  or 
the  just  in  particular.     But  as  this  truth  is  of  so 

vital  importance  in  the  way  of  salvation  and  sancti- 


UNIVERSITY  1 


34  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

fication,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  can  never  be  toe- 
much  discussed.  This  and  the  next  chapter  will 
confirm  still  more  what  I  have  said  in  the  preceding 
one. 

Jesus  Christ,  speaking  of  the  just  man,  said  : 
"  As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  unless  it 
abide  in  the  vine,  so  neither  can  you  unless  you 
abide  in  Me."  (John  xiii.,  4.)  If  this  be  true  of 
one  who  already  enjoys  God's  grace  and  is  His 
friend,  with  how  much  more  right  must  it  be  ap- 
plied to  a  sinner,  who  has  forfeited  the  grace  of 
God  ;  for  no  one  feels  more  forcibly  the  truth  of  the 
above-cited  words,  than  a  poor  sinner.  In  his  state 
of  the  privation  of  God's  grace,  he  is  like  that  poor 
little  infant,  which,  after  its  birth,  was  cast  by  its- 
cruel  mother  into  the  most  filthy  place  of  the  house, 
where  it  helplessly  died.  In  like  manner  the  sin- 
ner, being  buried  in  the  mire  of  sin,  feels  himself 
helpless  and  unable  to  rise  from  this  state  and  be 
reconciled  with  God.  If  without  God's  grace  I  am 
not  at  all  able  to  preserve  His  friendship,  how  much 
less  am  I  able  to  recover  it  after  having  lost  it  by 
sin?  "  If  any  one  asserts,"  says  the  Council  of 
Trent,  "that,  without  a  preceding  inspiration  and 
grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  man  can  believe,  hope, 
and  love,  or  repent  in  such  a  manner  as  he  ought,, 
let  him  be  anathema."  Consider  well  the  words: 
"  Repent  in  such  a  manner  as  he  ought."  Behold,. 
Judas,  too,   repented,  for   Holy  Scripture   says  of 


PRAYER   FOR   SINNERS.  35 

him :  et  Then  Judas,  who  betrayed  Him,  seeing 
that  He  was  condemned,  repenting  himself,  brought 
back  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  to  the  chief  priests 
and  ancients,  saying  :  I  have  sinned  in  betraying  in- 
nocent blood."  (Matt,  xxvii.  3.)  But  this  was  no 
such  repentance  as  is  required  for  justification,  pro- 
ceeding as  it  did,  from  natural  motives  only,  it  led 
Judas  to  despair.  "And  he  went  and  hanged  himself 
with  a  halter."  (Matt,  xxvii.  5.)  Man,  it  is  true, 
can,  by  himself,  commit  sin  and  offend  God  griev- 
ously ;  but,  to  rise  again  from  his  fall,  he  cannot,  ex- 
cept by  God's  assistance.  I  can  pluck  out  my  eyes, 
but  to  set  them  in  right  again  is  beyond  my  power. 
I  can  likewise  deprive  myself  of  the  grace  of  God, 
but  to  restore  it  again  to  my  soul  without  God's 
assistance,  is  more  than  I  am  able.  I  may  cast  my- 
self into  a  deep  well,  but  to  get  out  of  it  again  with- 
out any  one's  assistance  is  not  possible.  In  like 
manner  I  may,  by  mortal  sin,  give  myself  up  into 
the  power  of  the  devil,  but  to  escape  it  again,  with- 
out God's  particular  grace,  is  not  within  the  reach 
of  human  nature.  St.  Peter  remained  chained  in 
prison  until  an  Angel  came  and  said  to  him  :  "  Arise, 
and  the  chains  fell  off  from  his  hands."  (Acts  xii. 
7.)  Had  St.  Peter  not  been  awakened  by  the  An- 
gel he  would  not  have  thought  of  rising,  and  should 
he  have  thought  of  it,  he  would  not  have  been  able 
to  free  himself  from  his  fetters.  In  like  manner, 
the  soul  which   has  once  been  chained  by  sin,  will 


36  ON    THE   NECESSITY    OF 

scarcely  ever  think  seriously  of  converting  and 
returning  to  God  by  repentance,  and  should  it  ever 
do  so,  all  its  natural  efforts  will  not  suffice  to  break 
the  chains  of  sin,  and  free  it  from  the  slavery  of  the 
devil,  if  God's  grace  does  not  come  to  its  aid.  St. 
Anselm  met  one  day  with  a  child  in  the  street, 
keeping  a  bird  tied  with  a  thin  string  at  its  feet, 
and  seeking  pleasure  in  letting  it  flutter  about. 
The  bird  was  always  flying  upwards,  endeavoring 
to  obtain  its  liberty,  but  the  child  soon  pulled  it 
down,  and  the  poor  animal  would  fall  to  the  ground, 
at  which  the  child  would  laugh  and  leap  up  for  joy. 
St.  Anselm  looked  at  this  play  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  felt  compassion  for  the  bird.  At  once 
the  string  broke  and  the  poor  animal  was  free. 
The  child  commenced  to  cry  and  weep,  but  St.  An- 
selm laughed  and  rejoiced.  The  spectators  were 
astonished  to  see  a  great  prelate  pay  attention  to 
such  a  play  of  a  child,  and  show  compassion  in  the 
beginning  and  joy  at  the  end  of  it.  But  Anselm 
said:  "  Did  you  see  how  the  child  amused  itself 
with  the  bird  ?  Do  you  know  what  I  thought  of 
it  ?  Behold,  it  is  thus,  I  said  to  myself,  that  the 
devil  amuses  himself  with  many  souls.  Having 
them  once  tied  with  a  string,  he  plays  with  them  as 
he  pleases,  drawing  them  from  one  sin  into  another." 
Some  he  ties  by  making  them  indifferent  towards 
God  and  religion  and  their  own  salvation  ;  others, 
by  enkindling  in  them  too  great  love  and  affection 


PRAYER   FOR   SINNERS.  37 

for  the  goods  of  this  world  ;  some  again  by  the  sin 
of  avarice  ;  others  by  the  sin  of  uncleanliness,  theft, 
fraud  and  so  forth.  Many  a  one  of  these  unfortu- 
nate souls,  seeing  its  great  misery,  will  sigh  and 
groan  :  "  Would  to  God  that  I  were  once  free  from 
this  great  misery,  from  the  abominable  habit  of 
drinking,  swearing,  sinning  against  the  angelic 
virtue,  and  visiting  those  bad  companions  !  What 
am  I  to  do?"  What  happened  to  that  bird  hap- 
pens to  such  a  sinner  also  ;  he  wants  to  fly  upwards 
to  obtain  his  liberty,  but  in  vain.;  he  feels  he  cannot 
succeed,  the  devil  keeping  him  tied  up  and  pulling 
him  into  the  old  sin  of  drunkenness,  injustice,  un- 
cleanliness ;  and  the  poor  captured  sinner  remains  a 
slave,  and  hence  it  is  that  many  give  up  to  despair  ; 
cast  off  all  hope  of  ever  returning  to  a  better  life, 
to  God's  grace  and  friendship  ;  nay,  many  even 
turn  so  bad,  so  hardened,  so  obstinate  as  to  resem- 
ble incarnate  devils,  so  much  so,  that  they  would 
sin,  in  spite  of  God,  should  He  even  stand  before 
them,  with  fire  and  sword  in  hand,  to  take  revenge 
on  them.  Others  are  so  miserable  that  they  do  not 
see  their  misery  at  all,  or  do  not  want  to  see  it,  or 
anything  of  it,  in  order  to  feel  no  stings  of 
conscience  and  conceive  no  desire  of  amendment. 
ould  like  to  amend,  and  feel  the  good  will 
and  desire  for  it,  but  they  lack  courage  and  energy  ; 
-,  on  the  contrary,  have  no  desire  and  good- 
will (o  reform  ;  others,  no  confidence  ;  others  again 
4 


38  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

lack  courage,  good-will  and  confidence  at  the  same 
time.  Oh,  misery  of  miseries  !  Whence  shall 
such  men  obtain  light  to  understand  their  misery  ? 
Whence  shall  good-will,  courage  and  confidence 
come  to  them  to  rid  themselves  of  it?  From  God 
alone  can  they  obtain  it  ;  He  alone  can  grant  it. 

The  heart  of  man,  says  Holy  Scripture,  is  in  the 
hand  of  God,  withersoever  He  likes  He  turns  it ;  or, 
in  other  words,  He  can,  in  a  moment,  enlighten  the 
understanding  of  a  sinner  so  as  to  enable  him  to 
comprehend  the  misery  and  danger  of  his  state  ; 
He  can  move  his  will  so  powerfully  that  he  forms 
an  unalterable  resolution  to  amend,  and  He  can,  at 
once,  inspire  his  heart  with  so  great  a  confidence  in 
His  mercy,  that  he  firmly  hopes  for  the  forgiveness 
of  all  his  sins.  But  under  what  condition  does  God 
dispel  the  darkness  of  the  sinner's  mind,  the  obsti- 
nacy of  his  will,  and  the  diffidence  and  despair  of 
his  heart  ?  Under  the  only  one  condition,  that  the 
sinner  ask  it  of  Him,  for  God  does  not^wish  for  the 
sinner's  death,  but  that  he  may  be  converted  and 
live.  Hence,  He  is  at  all  times  ready  to  receive 
him  again  into  grace,  provided  he  sincerely  wishes 
for  it.  The  Lord  has  declared  this  by  the  Prophet 
Ezechiel  (chap,  xxxiii.)  upon  solemn  oath.  But 
this  very  merciful  God  wills,  I  say,  that  the  sinner, 
who  feels  himself  destitute  of  all  courage  and  firm 
will  to  amend  his  life,  of  strength  and  constancy  to 
overcome  his  passions  and  evil  habits,  and  to  give 


PRAYER    FOR   SINNERS.  39 

up  his  bad  companions,  should  ask  of  Him,  with 
all  humility,  this  courage,  this  firm,  determined 
will,  this  constancy,  this  grace  to  change  his  life, 
for  then  God  will  not  fail  to  assist  him  to  remove 
all  obstacles  to  His  grace,  and  receive  him  again 
into  His  friendship. 

The  Lord's  conduct  towards  sinners  is  almost  like 
that  of  the  Lacedemonians  towards  their  children. 
Wishing  to  make  sharp-shooters  of  them,  they 
would  not  give  them  bread  into  their  hands,  but 
placing  it  high,  said  to  them  :  "  Behold  !  children, 
there  is. bread  ;  shoot  it  down  if  you  want  it."  In 
like  manner  God  seems  to  speak  to  sinners.  Be- 
hold !  helpless  sinners,  My  grace  and  help  is  ready 
for  you  at  any  time  ;  aim  at  it,  that  is,  pray  to  Me 
for  it  if  you  want  it ;  for,  as  many  graces  will  fall 
down  upon  you,  as  you  will  shoot  down  by  the  darts 
of  your  prayer,  and  should  you  have  no  desire  to 
pray  for  My  grace,  or  should  you  not  be  earnest 
enough  in  asking  it,  ask  of  Me  the  grace  to  pray 
with  all  earnestness  and  fervor,  and  be  sure  this 
grace  shall  be  given  you  ;  but  if  you  neglect  to  do 
so  you  will  perisli  through  your  own  fault.  I  have 
told  you  often  enough,  and  again  I  repeat,  "  Call 
on  Me  and  I  will  hear  you  ;"  "  ask  and  you  shall 
receive."  (John  xvi.  23.)  ''Whatever  you  ask 
you  shall  receive."  (Matt.  xxi.  22.)  And  in  order 
that  no  one  might  believe  that  this  promise  applied 
to  the  just  only,  I  have  added  purposely  :   "  Every 


40  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

one  who  asks  shall  receive."  (Matt.  vii.  7.)  Every 
one,  then,  without  exception,  no  matter  whether  he 
be  a  just  man  or  a  sinner,  shall  receive  what  He 
asks  of  Me,  but  ask  he  must.  Thus  God,  in  His 
infinite  goodness,  has  promised  to  give  everything 
to  him  who  prays.  Hence  St.  Alphonsus  says  that 
one  of  the  greatest  pains  of  the  damned  will  be  the 
thought  that  they  could  so  easily  have  saved  them- 
selves by  asking  of  God  to  give  them  true  sorrow 
for  their  sins  and  a  firm  will  to  amend  their  lives. 
No  one,  therefore,  says  St.  Alphonsus,  will  have 
an  excuse  before  God  by  saying  that  his  salvation 
was  impossible  on  account  of  the  difficulties  and 
obstacles  with  which  he  met  in  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. God  will  not  listen  to  such  an  excuse  ;  He 
will  answer,  if  you  had  not  strength  and  courage 
enough  to  overcome  all  obstacles  and  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  your  salvation,  why  did  you  not  ask  Me 
to  come  to  your  assistance  ?  It  would  have  been  My 
greatest  pleasure  to  help  you.  If  a  man  has  fallen 
into  a  deep  well  and  does  not  take  hold  of  the  rope 
let  down  to  draw  him  up,  no  one  will  feel  pity  for 
him  if  he  perish.  Thus  the  sinner,  too,  is  lost 
through  his  own  fault,  if  he  neglect  to  pray  for  his 
salvation.  " For  so  many  years,  the  Lord  will  say, 
did  I  wait  in  the  hope  you  would  at  last  commence 
to  ask  of  Me  the  grace  of  true  repentance  and 
amendment  of  your  sinful  life.  I  would  have  given 
you  this  grace  quicker  than  a  man  can  pull  another 


PRAYER   FOR  SINNERS.  41 

out  of  a  well.  I  would  have  delivered  you  from 
your  miserable  state  of  sin  just  as  fast  as  I  delivered 
Jonas  from  the  whale,  for  no  sooner  had  he  prayed 
to  Me  in  the  belly  of  the  whale  than  I  delivered 
him  from  all  danger.  To  pray  to  Me,  and  to  call 
OH  Me  for  assistance,  and  to  be  delivered  and  saved, 
is  but  one  and  the  same  thing.  Fire  does  not  burn 
straw  as  fast  as  I  forgive  sinners  when  they  ask  for- 
giveness of  Me."  The  woman  of  Cana  had  no 
sooner  said,  "  Lord,  help  me,"  than  she  was  heard 
and  received  the  grace  of  conversion.  The  Samari- 
tan woman,  too,  received  the  grace  of  conversion  as 
soon  as  she  had  asked  our  Lord  to  give  her  of  the 
wholesome  water  of  which  He  was  speaking  to  her. 
No  sooner  had  the  publican  prayed  in  the  temple  : 
u  Lord,  be  merciful  to  me  a  poor  sinner,"  than  he 
orgiven  and  left  the  temple  as  a  just  man.  No 
sooner  had  the  good  thief  on  the  cross  said  to  our 
Saviour  :  "  Lord,  remember  me  when  Thou  comest 
into  Thy  kingdom/'  than  he  was  forgiven  and  re- 
l  the  promise  of  our  Saviour  that  he  would  be 
with  Him  in  paradise  on  that  day. 

Father  Humolt,  S.  J.,  relates  of  a  certain  vicious 
young  man  who  often  sincerely  wished  to  change  his 
life  and  be  reconciled  again  to  God,  that,  on  account 
of  his  deeply-rooted  evil  habits,  he  believed  his  con- 
version utterly  impossible,  and  that  whatever  he 
might  do  would  be  of  no  avail  to  excite  true  sorrow 
and  contrition  in  his  heart.  One  day  he  left  home 
4* 


42  ON   THE  NECESSITY   OF 

to  dissipate  his  sad  and  melancholy  thoughts  in 
company  with  others.  On  leaving  the  house  he 
met  at  the  door  a  poor  beggar.  As  soon  as  he  saw 
him,  he  remembered  what  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
has  said:  "  Whatsoever  you  have  done  to  the  least 
of  your  fellow-men,  you  have  done  to  Me."  He 
then  went  to  take  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  throwing 
himself  on  his  knees  before  the  beggar,  he  gave  it 
to  him,  thus  praying  in  his  heart:  "  My  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  I  adore  Thee  in  the  person  of  this  poor  man  ; 
most  gladly  would  I  give  Thee  my  whole  heart,  but 
I  cannot,  because  it  is  too  hardened  ;  for  this  time, 
take,  I  beseech  Thee,  this  loaf  of  bread  which  I 
am  still  able  to  give  ;  do,  even  against  my  will,  with 
my  heart  what  Thou  pleasest."  Oh,  the  wonderful 
power  of  prayer  !  No  sooner  had  he  thus  prayed 
than  his  heart  felt  a  most  bitter  sorrow  for  all  his 
sins,  so  much  so  that  he  shed  a  torrent  of  tears. 
He  made  a  good  confession,  performed  his  penance, 
and  ever  afterwards  received  many  extraordinary 
graces.  (Hunolt's  Eleventh  Sermon  on  the  Follow- 
ing of  Christ.) 

Would  to  God  that  all  those  saints  of  heaven 
who,  for  sometime,  led  a  sinful  life  on  earth,  would 
stand  before  you  in  this  moment,  I  would  request 
you  to  put  to  them  the  following  questions:  Most 
beloved  souls,  how  did  it  happen  that,  for  some 
time  you  offended  God  and  committed  sins  ?  They 
all,  I  am  sure,  would  unanimously  say,  it  was  be- 


PRAYER   FOR   SINNERS.  43 

cause  we  neglected  to  pray  to  God  in  the  moment  of 
temptation.  But  why  did  you  not  die  in  your  sins? 
Why  did  God  show  mercy  to  you,  forgiving  all  your 
offences  against  Him  ?  They  all  \vTould  answer 
again,  it  was  because  we  implored  Him  for  mercy 
and  forgiveness  of  our  sins.  But  how  did  it  come 
to  pass  that  you  did  not  relapse  into  your  former 
sins,  but  persevered  in  leading  a  penitential  life 
until  death  ?  And  they  all  would  again  unani- 
mously exclaim  :  Beloved  brethren,  know,  that  this 
good  will,  this  strength  and  courage  came  not  from 
ourselves,  no,  of  ourselves  we  were  weak  like  you, 
we  were  often  tempted  to  commit  the  same  old  sins 
again,  but  as  we  had  at  once  recourse  to  prayer,  God 
assisted  us  and  we  were  preserved  from  sin.  But 
well-beloved  blessed  souls,  one  more  question  : 
Were  the  devils  never  able  at  all  to  make  you  com- 
mit a  mortal  sin  after  your  conversion?  Know, 
dear  brethren,  know,  they  would  say,  that  the  devils 
often  tempted  us  most  frightfully  to  that  effect,  sug- 
gesting all  kinds  of  evil  thoughts  and  works,  but 
know  and  consider,  that  man,  when  he  commences 
to  pray  is  more  powerful  than  all  the  devils  united, 
so  much  so,  that  no  evil  spirit  can  do  him  the  least 
injury  ;  nay  the  devils  fly  away  from  a  man  who  js 

ing,  fearing  the  power  God  grants  to  his  soul. 
No  sooner  did  he  grievously  tempt  us  than  we  ex- 
claimed, Jesus  help  us,  Mary  p ray  for  us,  save  us, 

ill  Dot  into  temptation,  deliver  in  from  the  evil 


44  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

of  consenting  to  sin.  By  this  means  we  were  enabled 
to  give  upjsin,  to  lead  a  penitential  life,  not  to  fall 
back  into  sin  again  and  to  die  as  holy  penitents. 

Would  to  God  that  now,  also,  some  of  the  damned 
souls  of  hell  would  stand  before  you.  As  the  saints 
confess  and  avow  that  their  salvation  and  sanctifi- 
cation  is  owing  to  their  prayer,  so  in  like  manner 
the  damned  would  confess  that  their  eternal  damna- 
tion is  owing  to  their  neglect  of  prayer.  What  do 
you  think  would  be  the  answer  of  the  bad  thief, 
crucified  at  the  same  time  with  our  Saviour  ?  Lis- 
ten !  he  would  say,  I  confess  I  was  a  very  wicked 
sinner  and  a  great  malefactor  during  my  mortal 
life,  I  committed  many  a  murder  and  other  evil 
deeds,  for  which  I  have  deserved  hell  a  thousand 
times,  but  my  companion  on  the  cross  was  not  less 
guilty,  and  his  sins  cried  just  as  much  as  mine  to 
heaven  for  vengeance,  and  yet  he  ascended  from  his 
cross  into  heaven,  whilst  I  from  mine  was  hurled 
down  into  the  depth  of  hell  ;  he  rejoices  forever 
and  I  am  tormented  in  the  everlasting  fire  of  hell. 
What  brought  him  to  heaven  ?  What  brought  me  to 
hell  ?  Behold,  when  hanging  on  the  cross,  he  most 
sincerely  prayed  to  his  Lord  and  God  :  "  Lord,  re- 
member me  when  Thou  cometh  in  Thy  kingdom." 
For  this  short  prayer  he  obtained  the  forgiveness  of 
his  sins,  and  the  promise  to  be  with  his  Lord  in 
paradise  on  that  very  day.  I,  on  the  contrary,  did 
not  pray  at  all,  and  thus  I  remained  obstinate  in 


PRAYER   FOR   SINN  BBS.  45 

my  sins  and  died  as  a  reprobate.  In  like  manner 
all  the  damned  would  answer  if  commanded  to  tell 
the  cause  of  their  damnation.  0  most  frightful 
language  for  obstinate  sinners  who  do  not  wish  to 
be  converted  from  their  evil  ways  and  reconciled  to 
God  again  !  0  most  sweet  and  consoling  language 
for  all  those  who  will  pray  to  be  delivered  from 
their  sins,  and  received  as  children  of  God. 

Would  to  God  I  could  stand  on  a  high  mountain, 
surrounded  by  all  the  sinners  in  the  world  !  I  would 
cry  out  at  the  top  of  my  voice:  Pray,  pray,  pray, 
and  you  will  not  die  in  your  sins,  you  will  be  de- 
livered from  them  and  be  saved.  God  does  not  re- 
quire from  you  that  you  should  go  and  sell  every- 
thing and  give  it  to  the  poor,  or  undergo  most 
frightful  penances,  or  be  put  to  a  rack,  or  be  nailed 
to  a  cross,  in  order  to  be  saved  ;  such  hard  condi- 
tions as  these  He  has  not  made  for  your  salvation. 
He  has  made  but  the  easiest  in  the  world  ;  all  that 
He  wishes  is,  that  you  should  pray  to  Him  and  ask 
of  Him  with  a  sincere  heart,  what  you  need.  He  is 
still  the  same  God,  just  as  powerful,  just  as  merciful 
to  help,  to  forgive,  to  receive  you  into  His  grace  as 
as  when  He  said  to  the  good  thief,  "  This  day 
shalt  thou  be  witli  Me  in  paradise."  He  is  and 
will  be  to  you  the  same  powerful,  the  same  merciful 
God  that  II*'  was  to  St.  Magdalene,  the  penitent,  to 
St.  Augustine,  to  St.  Margaret  of  Cortona,  to  St. 
Mary  of  Egypt,  and  to  many  other  souls  whom  He 


46  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

delivered  from  their  sins,  converting  them  from 
being  sinners  into  saints  ;  but  you  must  avail  your- 
selves of  His  promise,  "  Amen,  amen  I  say  unta 
you,  whatsoever  you  ask  the  Father  in  My  name 
He  shall  give  it  to  you."  (John  xvi.  23.)  Jesus- 
Christ  has  made  this  promise,  it  never  failed  to  be 
fulfilled  in  any  one  who  profited  by  it.  Heaven 
and  earth  will  pass  away  rather,  but  the  fulfilment 
of  this  promise  shall  never  fail.  Lost  is  he  who 
prays  not ;  saved  is  he  who  prays.  Witnesses  of 
this  truth  will  be  all  the  saints  of  heaven  on  the 
day  of  the  last  judgment  ;  witnesses  of  this  truth 
will  be  all  the  damned  in  hell,  and  you  also  who- 
read  this,  will  on  the  day  of  judgment,  bear  witness 
to  this  truth,  standing  either  on  the  right  or  on  the 
left  of  the  Divine  Judge.  You  will  be  a  witness  of 
this  truth  with  the  elect  on  the  right,  if  you  pray  ; 
on  the  left,  with  the  damned,  if  you  do  not  pray. 
Choose  what  you  please. 


PRAYER   FOR   THE   JUST.  47 


CHAPTER   III. 

OX   THE   NECESSITY  OF   PRAYER   FOR   THE   JUST. 

IF  a  man  knows  that  lie  has  never  deserved  the 
good  graces  of  a  noble  lord,  that  the  friendship 
which  he  enjoys  is  a  pure  gift,  without  any  merit 
on  his  part,  and  that  the  duration  of  its  enjoyment 
depends  solely  and  entirely  on  the  will  of  that  lord, 
would  he  not  he  obliged  to  ask  of  his  benefactor  not 
to  withdraw  it  in  case  he  wished  always  to  enjoy  it  ? 
Now,  this  is  the  case  with  the  just  in  regard  to  the 
grace  and  friendship  of  God  ;  it  is  a  pure  gift  which 
no  man  can  obtain  by  himself,  and  when  obtained, 
no  one  can  preserve  it  until  death  unless  God  assists 
him  in  so  doing.  To  live  in  the  grace  of  God  until 
death  is  so  great  a  grace  that,  according  to  the 
teachings  of  the  holy  Fathers  of  the  Church,  no 
one  can  merit  it  by  any  good  works  whatever.  God 
must  bestow  this  gift  gratuitously,  and  He  grants 
it,  as  St.  Augustine  teaches,  to  all  those  who  daily 
pray  for  it.  The  Saint  says  we  must  pray  for  it 
daily,  because  even  the  just  are  daily  in  danger  of 
losing  it.  It  will  be  well  here  to  consider  this  daily 
danger,  as  it  will  thoroughly  convince  us  that  the 


48  ON    THE   NECESSITY    OF 

just  stand  in  constant  need  of  prayer.     St.  Paul  the- 
Apostle  says  :   "He  that  striveth  for  the  mastery  is 
not  crowned  except  he  strive  lawfully."     (II  Tim. 
ii.  5.)     No  one,  says  the  Apostle,  shall  be  crowned 
with  life  everlasting  unless  he  fight  lawfully,  until 
death,  against  his  enemies,  the  devil,  the  world  and 
his  own  corrupt  and  perverse  nature.     This  warfare 
between  the  just  and  their  spiritual  enemies,  is  al- 
ways  dangerous,  on   account   of  the  weakness   of 
man  and  the  subtlety  of  his  enemies.     As  to  the 
devil,  St.  Peter  says  that   "  he  goeth  about  as  a 
roaring  lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour."     (I 
Pet.  v.  8.)     He  persuaded  Adam  and  Eve  to  eat  of 
the  forbidden  fruit  ;  he  suggested  to  Cain  to  slay 
his  brother  Abel  ;  he  prevailed  upon  Saul  to  pierce 
David  with  a  lance  ;  he  instigated  the  Jews  to  deny 
and  crucify  Christ,  our  Lord  ;  he  induced  Ananias 
and  Sapphira  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost :  he  tempted 
Nero,  Decius,  Julian,  Diocletian,  and  other  heathen 
Emperors,  to  put  the  Christians  to  a  most  cruel 
death  ;  he  inspired  the  authors  of  heresies,  such  as 
Arius,  Martin  Luther,  and  others,  to  deny  certain 
articles  of  the  one  true  Catholic  faith.    In  like  man- 
ner the  devil,  now-a-days,  still  tempts  all  men,  es- 
pecially the  just,  trying  to  make  them  lose  the  grace 
of  God  ;    he  tempts  numberless  souls  to  indifference 
towards  God  and  their  own  salvation  ;  to  others  he 
represents   the   deceitful   happiness   of   the   goods, 
riches  and  pleasures  of  this  world  ;  to  others  again. 


PRAYER   FOR  THE  JUST.  49 

he  suggests  the  notion  of  joining  certain  secret  so- 
cieties ;  yes,  even  to  conceal  their  sins  in  confession 
and  to  receive  Holy  Communion  in  this  state  of  un- 
worthiness  ;  or  to  cheat  their  neighbor  in  their 
dealings  with  him  ;  or  to  give  themselves  up  to 
excess  in  drinking  ;  or  to  despair  of  the  forgiveness 
of  their  sins,  and  their  salvation — in  a  word,  the 
devil  leaves  nothing  undone  in  order  to  make  the 
just  fall  and  commit  sin,  attacking  almost  every 
one  in  his  weak  point,  which  is,  for  most  persons, 
that  strong  natural  inclination  to  the  vice  of  impu- 
rity. In  most  men  he  knows  how  to  excite  the  lust 
of  the  flesh  to  such  a  degree  that,  as  St.  Alphonsus 
says,  they  begin  to  forget  all  their  good  resolutions, 
nay,  that  they  even  make  little  account  of  the  truths 
of  their  holy  faith,  losing  almost  all  fear  of  hell 
and  the  divine  judgments.  It  is  an  undoubted  fact 
that  the  greater  number  of  those  who  yield  in  this 
warfare  with  the  devil,  is  far  greater  than  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  gain  the  victory  over  him.  If 
this  be  true  of  the  warfare  with  their  weakest  ene- 
my, it  is  far  more  so  of  the  warfare  with  their' two 
other  enemies,  they  being  much  stronger  and  more 
dangerous  than  all  infernal  spirits  united.  If  all 
the  just,  who  have  lost  their  baptismal  innocence, 
11  how  they  happened  to  lose  it,  they  would 
all  say  much  the  same  thing,  viz  :  by  such  and 
such  a  person  I  was  initiated  in  sin  and  evil  deeds. 
I  would  still  be  innocent  had  I  never  seen  that  com- 


50  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

panion,  that  relative,  that  friend  of  mine.  Bad 
example  is  like  an  unsound  apple,  one  is  sufficient 
to  infect  an  entire  heap  ;  in  the  same  manner,  the 
"bad  example  of  one  vicious  person  does  more  harm 
than  all  the  devils  united.  Small,,  indeed,  is  the 
number  of  those  who  understand  how  to  resist  bad 
example.  Besides,  there  is  another  truth  to  be  con- 
sidered here.  St.  Paul  the  Apostle  says :  "  All 
that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  per- 
secution." (II  Tim.  iii.  12.)  All  those  who  en- 
deavor to  serve  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  faithfully, 
and  persevere  in  His  service,  will  have  to  suffer  in 
some  way  or  other  from  their  fellow-Christians, 
neighbors,  relatives,  friends,  infidels,  heretics  ;  from 
jealous,  envious  or  otherwise  perverse  and  suspicious 
men  ;  from  bad  comrades,  whose  company  they 
have  given  up  ;  they  will  be  blamed,  rashly  judged 
and  condemned — now  for  such  a  word  and  manner 
of  acting — then  for  some  other ;  and  what  is  the 
most  painful  is,  that  the  just  man  is  often  obliged 
to  suffer  most  from  those  very  persons  who,  natu- 
rally speaking,  ought  to  be  his  most  devoted  friends 
and  companions — God  thus  permitting  it  as  a  trial 
of  his  patience  and  charity.  If  the  number  of  those 
who  come  forth  victorious  from  the  struggle  with 
the  devil  be  small,  much  smaller,  then,  indeed,  is 
the  number  of  those  who  overcome  their  second 
enemy,  the  world.  They  suffer  themselves  to  be  in- 
fluenced and  dragged  along  by  the  bad  example  of 


PRAYER   FOR   THE   JUST.  51 

others  ;  they  cannot  bear  detraction  and  calumny  ; 
to  suffer  a  temporal  loss  is  almost  insupportable  for 
the  most  of  them  ;  to  forgive  an  injury  or  an  insult 
is  more  than  they  can  endure,  so  much  so  that  they 
think  of  it  day  and  night ;  try  to  avoid  meeting 
those  who  have  offended  them,  and  bitterly  com- 
plain of,  nay,  even  curse  them. 

Now,  how  shall  he  be  said  to  strive  and  fight 
against  the  world  who  cannot  patiently  suffer  any- 
thing from  it  ?  St.  Paul  says  :  fl  Be  not  overcome 
by  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good."  (Rom.  xii. 
21.)  That  is  to  say,  by  patience  and  meekness  we 
should  overcome  everything  that  men  may  say  or  do 
against  us.  But  just  the  contrary  happens.  The 
most  men  strive  to  overcome  evil  by  evil  ;  they 
curse,  ill-treat,  persecute,  slander,  mock  all  those 
who  curse,  ill-treat,  slander,  persecute,  or  scoff  at 
them.  Instead  of  loving,  praying  for,  and  doing 
good  to  such  men,  as  Jesus  Christ  has  commanded, 
they  do  the  very  contrary.  Many  will  accuse  them- 
selves of  it  in  confession,  but  few  truly  repent  of 
their  sins.  Wli;it  a  hard  task  it  often  is  for  the 
ssor  to  induce  such  penitents  to  forgiveness, 
and  not  to  harbor  feelings  of  revenge. 

come  to  consider  our  third  enemy, 
namely,  our  perverse  nature,  we  shall  not  wonder 
at  the  saying  of  our  Lord  :  "  Many  are  called,  but 
few  are  chosen."  Bad  we  not  to  fight  with  thifl 
third  enemy,  the  devil  and  the  world  would  not  gain 


52  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

so  much  over  us  ;  but  tnis  third  enemy  plays  the 
traitor,  and  generally  gains  the  victory  over  the 
most  of  the  just  when  the  two  others  fail.  This 
enemy  is  always  near,  nay,  ever  with  us,  and,  there- 
fore, more  dangerous.  Even  the  greater  number  of 
the  just  seem  not  to  understand  and  believe  this  ; 
hence  it  is  they  are  so  little  on  their  guard  against 
this  enemy,  who,  on  that  account,  but  too  often  suc- 
ceeds in  betraying  and  delivering  them  up  into  the 
hands  of  the  devil  and  his  associates.  And  why  is 
our  corrupt  nature  our  greatest  enemy  ?  Because, 
by  nature,  we  are  all  inclined  to  evil  from  our  in- 
fancy. 

As  it  is  natural  for  fire  to  burn,  for  water  to  flow, 
for  the  sun  to  diffuse  light  and  heat,  so  it  is,  in  like 
manner,  quite  natural  for  man  to  follow  his  pas- 
sions and  evil  inclinations,  and  to  commit  sin  as 
long  as  no  superior  power  prevents  him  from  doing 
so.  Hence  St.  Paul  said  :  MI  do  not  that  good 
which  I  will,  but  the  evil  which  I  hate,  that  I  do." 
(Rom.  vii.  15.)  He  means  to  say  :  I  wish  not  to  do 
evil,  and  I  try  to  avoid  it,  but  I  experience  within 
myself  a  continual  inclination  to  do  evil,  although 
I  wish  to  do  good.  I  endeavor  to  do  it,  but  I  feel 
within  myself  a  great  reluctance  thereto,  and  I 
must  do  violence  to  myself  when  I  wish  to  act 
aright.  Every  one  has  experienced  the  same  from 
his  childhood,  feeling  more  inclined  to  anger  than 
to  meekness  ;  to  disobedience  than  to  submission  ; 


PRAYER   FOR   THE   JUST.  53 

to  hatred  thau  to  love  ;  to  the  evil  desires  of  the 
flesh  than  to  the  practice  of  holy  purity  ;  to  the 
gratification  of  the  senses  than  to  the  mortification 
of  them  ;  to  enjoying  himself  than  to  visiting  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament  or  receiving  Him 
in  holy  Communion  ;  to  indifference  towards  God 
and  His  holy  religion  than  to  fervor  in  His  holy 
service  ;  to  the  reading  of  bad  than  of  good,  edify- 
ing books ;  to  listen  to  scurrilous  talk  than  to  the 
word  of  God;  feeling  more  inclined,  in  fine,  to 
vanity,  vain-glory,  pride  and  levity,  than  to  humil- 
ity, self-contempt  and  the  spirit  of  mortification, 
and  being  ever  ready  to  join  a  bad  society  rather 
than  a  "pious  confraternity  of  the  Church.  And 
these  evil  inclinations  are  so  much  the  stronger  the 
more  and  the  longer  they  may  have  been  gratified, 
so  that  we  may  say,  in  all  truth,  that  man  is  more 
inclined  to  go  to  hell  than  to  heaven  ;  more  in- 
clined to  follow  the  devil  than  to  love  God,  his 
Maker  and  Redeemer.  And  why  is  this?  It  is 
because  the  first  man,  in  Paradise,  listened  rather 
to  what  the  devil  told  him  than  to  the  words  of 
God.  Hence  this  strong  tendency  to  evil  is  but  a 
just  punishment  of  God  for  original  sin.  Baptism, 
it  is  true,  cancels  original  sin,  but  it  does  not  de- 
stroy this  inclination  to  evil,  which  remains  in  man 
until  death,  and  deservedly  so. 

Before  Adam  had  committed  sin,  he  knew  not 
what  indifference  in  the  service  of  God,  anger,  ha- 


54  ON  THE  NECESSITY  OF 

tred,  cursing,  blasphemy,  impurity,  vain  ambition 
and  the  like  were.  In  punishment  of  his  sin,  God 
permitted  the  inclination  of  man,  to  all  that  was 
good,  to  be  changed  into  inclinations  to  evil.  Man, 
then,  having,  by  his  own  free  will,  forfeited  the 
kingdom  of  God,  having  exchanged  heaven  for  hell, 
God  for  the  devil,  good  for  evil,  the  state  of  grace 
for  the  state  of  sin,  it  is  certainly  but  just  and  right 
that  he  should  not  only  repent  of  his  great  prevari- 
cation, but  should,  as  long  as  he  lives,  fight  against 
his  evil  inclinations,  and,  by  this  life-long  warfare 
against  his  enemies,  declare  himself  for  God  and 
heaven,  acknowledging  his  guilt  and  giving,  in 
some  measure,  satisfaction  to  God  for  the  great  infi- 
delity of  his  apostasy,  thus  rendering  himself,  in 
some  degree,  again  worthy  of  his  former  rights  and 
claims  upon  heaven.  Taking,  then,  into  serious 
consideration  this  continual  warfare  with  three  pow- 
erful enemies,  the  extreme  weakness  of  man,  and 
the  sad  experience  of  all  ages,  that  the  greater  part 
of  men  do  not  overcome  even  one  of  their  enemies, 
we  see  verified  the  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ : 
"  Wide  is  the  gate  and  broad  is  the  way  that  lead- 
eth  to  destruction,  and  many  there  are  who  go  in 
thereat.  How  narrow  is  the  gate,  and  straight 
is  the  way  that  leadeth  to  life,  and  few  there  are 
that  find  it."  (Matt.  vii.  13-14.)  Who  will  then  be 
able  to  find  this  straight  way — that  is  to  say,  who 
will  be  able  to  conquer,  until  death,  these  three 


PRAYER   FOR   THE   JUST.  oo 

enemies  of  our  everlasting  happiness  ?  Whence 
shall  come  sufficient  strength,  courage  and  patience  ? 
Truly,  with  Josaphat,  the  king,  we  must  exclaim  : 
u  As  for  us,  we  have  not  strength  enough  to  be  able 
to  resist  this  multitude  which  cometh  violently  upon 
us.  But,  as  we  know  not  what  to  do,  we  can  only 
turn  our  eyes  to  Thee,  our  God."  (II  Paralip.  xx. 
12.)  By  our  own  strength  we  shall  not  be  able  to 
overcome  any  one  of  our  spiritual  enemies,  but  by 
the  strength  that  God  grants  to  those  who  ask  it, 
we  shall  overcome  all.  Prayer  is  that  powerful 
means  which  God  has  given  us  to  preserve  ourselves 
in  His  grace  and  friendship.  Should  the  temptations 
of  the  devil  appear  insurmountable,  the  bad  exam- 
ple of  men  and  the  revolts  of  nature  quite  irresisti- 
ble, the  words  of  St.  Paul  will  always  be  verified  : 
"  God  is  faithful,  who  will  not  suffer  you  to  be 
tempted  above  that  which  you  are  able,  but  will 
make  issue  also  with  the  temptation,  that  you  may 
be  able  to  bear  it,"  (I  Corinth,  x.  13.)  on  condition, 
however,  that  we  pray  to  Him  for  a  happy  issue 
with  the  temptation,  "for,"  says  St.  Augustine, 
"  God  does  not  command  anything  impossible;  if 
He  commands  anything,  He  admonishes  you  to  do 
what  you  are  able,  and  to  ask  Him  for  what  you  are 
i Me,  and  then  He  will  help  you,  that  you  may 
1--  aide." 

John  Chry6ostom  speaks  in  the  same  manner  : 
11  As  a  city,  fortified  by  strong  walls,  cannot  easily 


Ob  ON  THE   NECESSITY   OF 

be  taken,  so,  in  like  manner,'  a  soul,  armed  and  for- 
tified by  prayer,  cannot  be  prevailed  upon  by  the 
devil  to  commit  sin."  If  the  soul  likes  to  pray,  the 
Saint  means  to  say,  prayer  will  be  for  it  a  wall,  a 
dam,  a  bulwark,  preventing  the  devil  from  doing  it 
any  injury  ;  but,  if  it  does  not  love  prayer,  the 
devil  will  soon  conquer  it,  "  for,"  continues  the 
same  holy  doctor,  "the  devil  is  afraid  of  approach- 
ing a  soul  fortified  by  prayer,  fearing  the  courage 
and  strength  granted  by  God  to  the  soul  in 
prayer,  which  strengthens  and  invigorates  it  more 
than  food  does  the  body."  As  long  as  the  soul 
prays,  so  long  will  God  be  its  strength  and  support, 
of  which  it  will  be  bereft  as  soon  as  it  gives  up 
prayer. 

Sin  will  be  unavoidable;  "for,"  continues  St. 
John  Chrysostom,  "  as  the  body,  without  the  soul, 
is  dead,  so,  in  like  manner,  a  soul  without  prayer  is 
dead,  emitting  a  bad  odor" — that  is  to  say,  "the 
stench  of  all  kinds  of  sins."  A  soul,  then,  wish- 
ing to  remain  in  the  grace  and  friendship  of  God, 
must  love  prayer,  for,  "  as  plants  cannot  remain 
fresh  and  green  without  moisture,"  says  St.  John 
Chrysostom,  "  so  a  soul  stands  in  need  of  prayer  to 
be  saved.  St.  Augustine  says  the  same  in  almost 
the  same  words  :  "As  the  body  cannot  live  without 
food,  so  the  soul  cannot  preserve  the  grace  of  God, 
its  life,  without  prayer."  The  more,  then,  the  soul 
is  given  up  to  prayer,  the  more  it  is  nourished  and 


PRAYER    FOR    THE    JUST.  5T 

strengthened  ;  and  the  less  it  practises  prayer,  the 
weaker  it  feels.  "Nay,"  says  St.  John  Chrysos- 
tom,  "  if  you  do  not  pray  you  will  be  like  a  fish  out 
of  the  water.  As  a  fish  must  remain  in  water,  not 
to  lose  its  life,  so  a  soul  must  persevere  in  prayer." 
A  plant,  generally  speaking,  prospers  only  in  its 
native  soil.  The  same  happens  to  the  soul.  God, 
by  creating  the  soul,  became  its  true  home.  Trans- 
plant it  and  it  will  not  live.  Prayer  is  the  meana 
by  which  the  soul  cannot  be  uprooted  and  carried 
away  from  this  home  by  the  temptations  of  the 
devil,  the  allurements  of  the  world,  and  the  sinful 
pleasures  of  the  flesh.  Prayer  keeps  the  soul  united 
to  God,  and  God  to  the  soul,  and  thus  it  lives  hap- 
pily. This  is  most  emphatically  expressed  by  St. 
John  Chrysostom,  in  the  following  terms:  "  Every 
one  who  does  not  pray,  and  does  not  wish  to  keep 
up  a  continual  communication  with  God,  is  dead,  is 
destitute  of  life,  nay,  even  of  common  sense ;  and 
he  must  be  insane  who  does  not  understand  the 
great  honor  of  praying,  and  who  is  not  convinced  of 
the  truth  that  not  to  pray  is  to  bring  death  upon 
the  soul,  it  being  impossible  to  lead  a  virtuous  life 
without  the  aid  of  prayer.  For  how  would  one  be 
able  to  practise  virtue  without  throwing  himself  in- 
cessantly at  the  feet  of  Him  from  Whom  alone  men 
derive  all  their  strength  and  courage. "  (St.  John 
st.,  lib  I.,  de  orando  Deum.)  St.  Augustine  is 
of  the  same  opinion.     "  He  who  does  not  know  how 


•58  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

to  pray  well,"  says  he,  u  shall  never  know  how  to 
live  well."  (Homil.  43.)  "Nay,"  says  St.  Francis 
of  Assissium,  u  never  expect  anything  good  from  a 
soul  that  is  not  given  up  to  prayer."  And  Saint 
Bernard  used  often  to  repeat :  "  If  I  notice  one  who 
is  not  very  anxious  to  pray,  I  at  once  think  to  my- 
self, such  a  one  will  hardly  attain  any  virtue." 
These  Saints  mean  to  say  that,  as  we  in  vain  seek 
for  precious  things  from  a  poor  man,  so  it  is  even 
more  useless  to  expect  to  find  virtues  in  one  who  is 
not  accustomed  to  pray.  Hence  St.  Charles  Bor- 
romeo  says  in  one  of  his  pastoral  letters  :  (Act. 
Eccl.  Med.,  p.  1005,)  "that  of  all  means  left  by 
Jesus  Christ  for  our  salvation,  prayer  occupies  the 
first  place,"  or,  in  other  words,  that  prayer  is  the 
principal  means  of  salvation.  Or,  as  Cornelius  a 
Lapide  says,  Prayer  is  more  necessary  for  Christians 
than  any  other  spiritual  weapon  ;  (In  Ephes.,  vi. 
18,)  because,  in  the  combat  with  temptations,  God 
alone  can  grant  the  victory,  for  which  we  must  im- 
plore His  grace  and  assistance.  "  Nay,"  says  the 
learned  St.  Alphonsus,  in  his  preface  to  his  little 
book  on  prayer,  "  in  the  ordinary  course  of  Provi- 
dence, our  meditations,  resolutions,  and  promises 
will  all  be  fruitless  without  prayer,  because  we  will 
be  unfaithful  to  the  Divine  light  and  inspiration  if 
we  do  not  pray  ;  for,  in  order  to  be  enabled  to  do 
good  as  we  ought,  to  overcome  temptations,  to  prac- 
tise virtues,  in  a  word,  to  keep  the  commandments 


PRAYER   FOR   THE  JUST.  59 

of  God  in  a  perfect  manner,  we  need,  besides  Divine 
light,  meditations,  and  resolutions,  the  actual  assist- 
ance of  God  also,  which  the  Lord  grants  to  those 
only  who  pray  for  it,  and  who  pray  for  it  unceas- 
ingly. ,  Divine  lights,  pious  considerations,  and 
resolutions,  make  us  pray  when  strongly  tempted 
to  transgress  the  commandments  of  God,  and  thus 
we  obtain  the  Divine  help  necessary  not  to  yield  to 
the  temptations  ;  as,  on  the  contrary,  we  should  un- 
doubtedly be  lost,  if  we  would  not  pray."  Hence, 
St.  Thomas  Aquinas  is  of  the  belief  that  Adam 
committed  sin  because  in  his  temptations  he  ne- 
glected to  pray  to  God  for  assistance.  St.  Gelasius 
says  the  same  of  the  fallen  Angels.  "  In  vain  did 
they  receive  the  grace  of  God,  because,  as  they  did 
not  pray,  they  could  not  persevere."  (Epist.  5., 
ad.  Ep.  in  P.)  Saint  Alphonsus  relates,  in  the  pre- 
face to  his  book,  "  Triumphs  of  the  Martyrs,  No. 
25,"  "  that  the  head  of  an  old  Japanese  was,  in  the 
defence  of  his  faith,  sawed  off  by  slow  degrees. 
After  having  endured  this  cruel  torture  for  a  long 
time,  even  to  the  point  of  death,  he  nevertheless 
died  an  apostate,  because  he  had  ceased  to  recom- 
mend himself  to  the  Lord.  Would  to  God  that  all 
might  learn  from  this  that  our  salvation  depends  on 
our  perseverance  in  praying  to  God  for  aid  to  resist 
u-iMptations,  and  to  bear  patiently  the  sufferings  and 
.  sities  of  this  life."  Father  Paul  Segneri  re- 
lates that  a  young  man  called  Paccus,  in  order  to 


"60  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

do  penance  for  his  sins,  retired  into  a  wilderness, 
where,  after  some  years  of  penanoe,  he  was  so  vio- 
lently assaulted  by  temptations  that  he  thought  it 
impossible  to  resist  any  longer,  and  often  yielded  to 
them.  In  his  despair  of  salvation  he  thought  of 
taking  his  own  life,  believing  it  would  be  better  for 
him  to  die  immediately,  and  go  to  hell  then,  than 
after  having  committed  many  more  mortal  sins,  for 
which  he  would  have  to  suffer  so  much  the  more  in 
hell.  One  day  he  picked  up  a  venomous  snake, 
provoking  it  in  every  possible  way,  in  order  that  it 
might  inflict  upon  him  a  poisonous  wound,  but  the 
good  creature  did  not  hurt  him  in  the  least.  "  Oh  ! 
God !"  said  Paccus,  "  so  many  men  die  who  are  so 
much  afraid  of  death,  and  I,  who  wish  so  much  for 
it,  cannot  die."  He  then  heard  a  voice  saying  to 
him,  "  Poor  wretch  !  do  you  imagine  you  could 
overcome  temptations  by  yourself?  Pray  to  God 
for  assistance,  and  temptations  will  no  longer  injure 
you."  Encouraged  by  this  voice,  he  prayed  most 
fervently,  and  obtained  by  his  prayer  such  great 
courage  and  strength,  that  he  lost  all  fear  of  temp- 
tations and  the  infernal  spirits. 

But  why  should  I  quote  examples  of  this  kind  ? 
Almost  every  one  of  us  may  serve  as  an  example  to 
prove  the  truth  that  to  neglect  prayer  is  to  fall  into 
sin  and  lose  the  grace  of  God.  Let  every  one  who 
has  committed  sin  reflect  whether  he  prayed  in  the 
moment  of  temptation,   and  he  will  be  forced  to 


PRAYER   FOR   THE   JUST.  61 

avow  that  he  did  not.  Every  sin  we  commit  is  a 
standing  proof  of  the  truth  that  the  grace  of  God 
cannot  be  preserved  without  incessant  prayer. 
Hence,  Saint  Cyprian  wrote  to  the  Christians  of 
Africa,  who  were  daily  becoming  more  lukewarm 
and  less  fervent  in  the  service  of  God,  committing 
sin  after  sin  to  such  an  extent  that  many  fell  away 
from  the  faith.  "  I  have  learned  that  you  have  be- 
come lukewarm  and  remiss  in  prayer,  and  that  you 
are  not  watchful  in  it."  Lukewarmness  and  neglect- 
fulness  in  the  service  of  God.  keep  pace  with  luke- 
warmness and  neglectfulness  in  prayer.  As  boiling 
water  slowly  cools  when  removed  from  the  fire,  and 
at  last  becomes  cold,  so  the  soul  and  will  of  man 
will  cool  in  the  love  of  God  in  proportion  as  he  gives 
up  prayer.  Hence,  if  you  notice  sinful  disorders  in 
a  family,  or  in  a  community,  be  sure  that  prayer  is 
forgotten  there.  Even  all  victories  gained  by  the 
just  over  their  spiritual  enemies  will,  on  the  day  of 
judgment,  be  so  many  evident  proofs  of  the  truth 
in  question.  For  this  reason  Cornelius  a  Lapide 
says,  that  Christians  cannot  make  any  better  use  of 
their  leisure  time  than  by  spending  it  in  prayer. 
The  Saint>.  therefore,  being  so  intimately  convinced 
of  this  truth,  loved  and  practised  nothing  so  much 
as  prayer.  King  David,  knowing  no  other  means 
besides  prayer  to  escape  the  snares  of  the  devil, 
would  often  say  to  the  Lord  :  "  Lord,  look  upon  me 
tod  ivy  on  me  :  for  1  am  alone  and  poor." 

0 


62  ON   THE  NECESSITY   OF 

(Ps.  xxiv.  16.)  "  I  cried  with  my  whole  heart — 
hear  me,  0  Lord  ;  let  Thy  hand  be  with  me  to  save 
me."  (Ps.  118.)  And  thus  he  prayed  without 
ceasing,  according  to  his  own  words  in  Ps.  xxiv.  15  r 
"  My  eyes  are  ever  towards  the  Lord,  for  He  shall 
pluck  my  feet  out  of  the  snare."  And  again  in 
Ps.  118  :  "  How  have  I  loved  Thy  law,  0  Lord  ;  it 
is  my  meditation  all  the  day."  Daniel,  says  St. 
John  Chrysostom,  preferred  to  die  rather  than  to 
give  up  prayer.  St.  Philip  Neri,  being  one  day 
commanded  to  apply  to  prayer  a  little  less  than 
usual,  said  to  one  of  his  Fathers  :  "  I  begin  to  feel 
like  an  animal."  Hence  Blessed  Leonard,  of  Port 
Maurice,  used  to  say  a  Christian  should  not  let  a 
moment  pass  by  without  saying  :  "  My  Jesus,  have 
mercy  on  me  !"  It  was  by  means  of  prayer  that 
the  Saints  overcame  all  temptations  of  the  world,  of 
the  devil,  and  of  the  flesh.  They  suffered  most 
patiently  all  their  crosses,  tribulations,  and  perse- 
cutions until  death.  The  more  acute  and  painful 
their  sufferings  were,  the  more  they  prayed,  and  the 
Lord  came  to  their  assistance  ;  thus  they  triumphed 
over  all  their  enemies.  After  St.  Theodore  had 
been  cruelly  treated  in  many  different  ways,  he  was 
at  last  commanded  by  the  tyrant  to  stand  on  red  hot 
pot-sherds.  Finding  this  kind  of  torture  almost  too 
great  to  endure,  he  prayed  to  the  Lord  to  assuage  it, 
and  the  Lord  at  once  granted  him  courage  and  forti- 
tude to  stand  these  torments  until  death.   (Triumphs 


PRAYER    FOR   THE   JUST.  63 

of  the  Martyrs,  by  St.Alphonsus.)  By  prayer  alone 
is  to  be  obtained  courage,  protection,  fortitude, 
magnanimity,  and  endurance  in  sufferings  and 
adversities.  This  we  learn  especially  by  the  Angel 
who  descended  with  the  three  children  into  the  fiery 
furnace  of  Babylon.  But  the  Angel  of  the  Lord 
went  down  with  Azarias  and  his  companions  into 
the  furnace.  (Dan.  iii.,  49.)  But  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  had  already  descended  into  the  flames  before 
them,  otherwise  they  would  have  been  burnt  up  im- 
mediately, but  they  did  not  see  him  before  they  had 
prayed  in  the  manner  related  from  verse  24  to  verse 
46.  After  that  prayer,  they  saw  him,  how  he  drove 
the  flame  of  the  fire  out  of  the  furnace,  and  made 
the  midst  of  the  furnace  like  the  blowing  of  a  wind 
bringing  dew.  (Verse  49,  50.)  Thus  the  Angel  of 
the  Lord  wished  to  indicate,  as  Cornelius  a  Lapide 
remarks,  that  in  persecutions  and  tribulations  prayer 
is  the  only  means  to  be  saved.  Those  who  made 
use  of  it  have  always  been  victorious  ;  those  who 
did  not  make  use  of  it  have  universally  given  way 
and  perished.  "  I  have  known,"  says  St.  Cyprian, 
"and  I  have  shed  tears  over  many  who  seemed  to 
possess  great  courage  of  heart  and  fortitude  of  soul, 
and  when  on  the  point  of  receiving  the  crown  of 
life  everlasting,  they  fell  away  in  the  end  and  denied 
Him  Whom  they  had  professed  for  many  years. 
What  was  the  cause  of  it  ?  They  had  turned  away 
theii  eyes  from  Him    Who  alone  is  able   to   give 


64  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

strength  to  the  weak.  They  had  given  up  prayer, 
and  commenced  to  look  for  aid  and  protection  from 
man  ;  they  considered  their  own  human  weakness  ; 
the  red  hot  gridirons,  those  points  of  iron,  those 
swords,  and  all  the  other  instruments  of  martyrdom 
so  frightful  to  look  at  ;  and  compared  the  acuteness 
of  the  pains  with  their  strength,  and  hence  it  came 
that  they  lost  the  victory  ;  for  as  soon  as  one  thinks 
to  himself  i  I  can  suffer  this  but  not  that,'  his  mar- 
tyrdom will  never  he  crowned  with  a  glorious  end. 
He  only  who  abandons  himself  entirely  to  the  Divine 
will,  and  who  looks  for  help  from  God  alone,  will 
remain  firm  and  immovable  and  persevere  to  the 
end.  But  this  can  be  expected  only  from  him  who 
is  gifted  with  a  lively  faith  which  does  not  tremble, 
nor  examine  and  consider  how  great  the  tyrant's 
cruelty,  and  how  weak  human  nature  is, — but  how 
great  is  the  power  of  the  Almighty  Who  fights  and 
conquers  in  His  members.  Nor  should  any  one,  on 
experiencing  some  great  bodily  or  spiritual  afflic- 
tion, lose  courage  on  that  account.  Let  him  trust 
in  the  Lord,  Whose  battles  he  fights.  He  will  not 
permit  any  one  "to  be  tempted  beyond  what  he  is 
able,  but  will  grant  a  happy  issue  to  all  sufferings." 
Hence,  we  read  that  all  the  martyrs  would  con- 
stantly pray  in  their  torments,  and  the  more  their 
pains  increased  the  more  they  would  pray,  and  thus 
they  triumphed  and  gained  the  glorious  palm  of 
martyrdom.   "  Weall,"  says  St.Alphonsus,  "  ought 


PRAYER   FOR   THE   JUST.  65 

to  be  firmly  convinced  that  we  are,  as  it  were,  stand- 
ing over  a  very  deep  abyss  of  sin,  and  are  kept 
there  by  the  slender  thread  of  Divine  grace  ;  if  this 
thread  breaks  we  fall  into  the  abyss,  and  shall  com- 
mit the  most  atrocious  crimes.  "  Unless  the  Lord 
had  been  my  helper,  my  soul  had  almost  dwelt  in 
hell."  (Ps.  lxliii.,17.)  "Unless  the  Lord  keep 
the  city,  he  watcheth  in  vain  that  keepeth  it." 
(Ps.  cxxvi.,  1.)  "Unless  the  Lord  preserves  the 
soul  from  sin,  all  its  endeavors  will  be  in  vain  to 
avoid  it."  "Lord,"  exclaimed  Philip  Neri,  "  keep 
Thy  hand  over  me  this  day,  otherwise  Thou  wilt  be 
betrayed  by  Philip."  Now,  what  a  St.  Augustine, 
a  St.  Cyprian,  a  St.  John  Chrysostom,  a  St.  Alphon- 
sus,  and  many  other  Saints  have  said  on  prayer,  as 
a  most  necessary  means  to  preserve  the  grace  of 
God  until  death,  is  confirmed  by  many  of  the  clear- 
est passages  of  Holy  Scripture.  "  Woe  to  you  that 
devise  that  which  is  unprofitable  and  work  evil.  .  . 
because  your  hand  is  against  God  ;"  (Micheas  ii., 
1.)  that  is  because  you  do  not  raise  up  your  hands  in 
prayer  to  God.  Behold,  how  powerful  prayer  is 
with  God,  and  how  great  the  evils  are  that  flow 
from  the  neglect  of  prayer.  Those  Israelites  thought 
of  nothing  but  of  robbing  and  cheating.  And  how 
did  it  happen  that  they  became  so  bad  ?  It  was,  as 
Holy  Scripture  says,  because  "they  did  no 
longer  raise  up  their  hands  in  prayer  to  God." 
Had   they    prayed   to  the   Almighty,  as  the   Holy 


66  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF 

Ghost  gives  to  understand,  they  would  have  been 
mindful  of  God  and  His  judgments,  terrified  by 
which  they  would  have  stopped  perpetrating  any 
more  heinous  crimes  ;  as  the  Lord,  on  account  of 
their  prayer,  would  have  prevented  them  with  His 
efficacious  grace,  inspiring  them  to  quit  their  evil 
ways,  and  to  return  to  true  repentance  of  their  sinful 
lives.  Again,  how  did  it  happen  that  those  two 
elders  went  so  far  in  their  perverseness  as  to  try  to 
violate  the  most  chaste  Susannah  ?  It  was,  as  Daniel 
the  prophet  says,  (chap,  xiii.,  9)  because  "  they  per- 
verted their  own  mind,  and  turned  away  their  eyes, 
that  they  might  not  look  into  heaven  nor  remember 
just  judgments."  And  what  does  David,  the  royal 
prophet,  say  in  this  respect?  Speaking  of  the  im- 
pious, (Ps.  xiii.,)  "  they  are  corrupt,  and  they  are 
become  abominable  in  their  ways.  .  .  .  They 
are  all  gone  aside,  they  are  become  unprofitable  to- 
gether ;  there  is  none  that  does  good,  no,  not  one. 
....  Destruction  and  unhappiness  are  in  their 
ways."  .  .  .  He  at  last,  in  verse  5,  adds  the 
reason  for  their  evil  ways,  saying  :  "  They  have  not 
called  upon  the  Lord."  This  was  the  cause  of  their 
wickedness.  And  St.  Paul  writes,  in  his  second 
letter  to  the  Corinthians:  (chap,  xiii.,  7",)  "  Now 
we  pray  God  that  you  may  do  no  evil."  Prayer, 
he  means  to  say,  will  keep  sin  far  from  you.  We 
read  in  the  book  of  Machabees  that  Judas,  the 
Machabee,  by  means  of  a  small  force,  gained  many 


PRAYER   FOR  THE   JUST.  67 

great  victories  over  Antiochus.  How  did  this  hap- 
pen? It  was  for  the  fervent  prayer  which  he 
addressed  to  God  before  each  engagement.  But 
Holy  Scripture  does  not  say  this  of  him  in  his  last 
battle,  and  hence  the  cause  of  his  defeat.  For  him, 
then,  says  St.  Isidore,  (lib.  3,  de  summo  bono,  ch. 
8,)  who  is  overwhelmed  with  temptation,  there  is 
no  other  remedy  left  than  prayer,  to  which  he  must 
have  recourse  as  many  times  as  he  is  tempted  ;  for 
frequent  recourse  to  prayer  subdues  all  temptations 
to  sin.  "  Which  of  the  just,"  asks  Saint  John  Chry- 
sostom,  (Sermo  de  Mose)  "  did  ever  fight  valiantly 
without  prayer?  Which  of  them  did  ever  conquer 
any  one  of  his  enemies  without  prayer?"  Neither 
any  of  the  prophets,  nor  any  of  the  Apostles,  nor 
any  of  the  martyrs,  nor  any  of  the  confessors,  nor 
any  of  the  holy  virgins  and  widows,  nor  any  of  the 
just, — no  matter  how  many  thousands  soever  there 
may  be,  either  in  heaven  or  on  earth.  "Nay  not 
to  pray,"  a  pious  Jesuit  Father  used  to  say,  "and 
yet  remain  free  of  sin  ;  not  to  pray  and  yet  perse- 
vere in  good  ;  not  to  pray  and  yet  be  saved,  is  to 
tempt  God  ;  is  to  ask  of  Him  a  miracle  ;  is  just  as 
much  as  to  think  one  can  see  without  eyes,  hear 
without  ears,  walk  without  feet."  "Wo  believe 
and  are  firmly  convinced,"  we  must  say  then  with 
St.  Augustine,  "  that  no  one  can  work  out  his  sal- 
vation without  the  help  of  God,  and  that  this  help 
is  granted  to  him  only  who  asks  for  it?"     Nay, 


68  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

every  one  must,  with  St.  John  Chrysostom,  declare 
this  to  be  utterly  impossible,  saying  :  "  It  seems  to 
me  it  must  be  with  every  one  a  clear  and  undoubted 
truth  that  it  is  altogether  impossible  for  one  to  lead 
a  virtuous  life  without  frequent  recourse  to  prayer." 
(Lib.  I,  de  orando.)  Hence,  I  beseech  you,  brethren, 
I  say  with  St.  Bernard,  "  always  to  have  recourse 
to  prayer  as  to  the  surest  weapon  of  defence."  Let 
prayer  be  your  first  act  in  the  morning,  the  com- 
mencement of  all  your  actions  ;  let  prayer  accompany 
and  finish  them.  Oppose  prayer  to  the  devil  when 
he  tempts  you  to  lukewarmness,  to  impatience,  to 
impurity,  or  to  any  other  sin.  With  prayer  arm 
yourself  in  your  dealings  with  the  wicked  world, 
and  in  the  combat  with  your  own  corrupt  nature  ; 
let  prayer  never  leave  your  heart  and  lips  ;  let  it  be 
the  faithful  and  inseparable  companion  on  all  your 
journeys  ;  let  prayer  close  your  eyes  after  having 
gone  to  rest  at  night ;  let  prayer  be  your  exercise 
of  predilection.  Any  other  loss  can  be  made  up 
for,  but  never  that  of  prayer  ;  if,  on  account  of  a 
delicate  constitution,  you  cannot  fast,  you  may  give 
alms  ;  have  you  no  occasion  to  confess,  you  may  ob- 
tain forgiveness  of  your  sins  by  making  an  act  of  per- 
fect contrition  ;  nay,  even  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism 
may  be  supplied  by  the  real  desire  of  it,  and  a  perfect 
love  of  God,  but  no  other  means  of  salvation  is  left 
for  him  who  does  not  love  to  practise  prayer.  Every 
other  occupation  should  then  be  given  up  rather 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL   STUDENTS.  69 

than  that  of  prayer.  Persevere  in  it,  as  Jesus 
Christ  and  all  the  Saints  did,  closing  your  life  and 
breathing  forth  your  last  breath  with  it.  "  Father,, 
into  Thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit. "'  Thus,  prayer 
will  conduct  you  to  heaven,  there  to  reign  eternally 
with  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  all  the  just  in  ever- 
lasting joy  and  glory. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ON   THE  NECESSITY   OP    PRAYER   FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL 
STUDENTS. 

"  Lord,  teach  us  to  pray,  as  John  also  taught  his  disciples.' ' 

[Lukk  xi.  1. 

ONE  of  the  most  important  duties  of  a  pastor  is 
to  teach  the  people  the  necessity  and  efficacy 
of  prater,  and  how  they  are  to  pray  and  for  what 
they  are  to  pray.  Hence  it  is  said,  in  the  Catechism 
of  the  Council  of  Trent,  that  "  amongst  the  duties 
of  the  pastoral  office,  it  is  one  of  the  highest  im- 
portance to  the  spiritual  interest  of  the  faithful  to 
instruct  them  in  Christian  prayer,  the  nature  and 


10  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

efficacy  of  which  must  be  unknown  to  many,  if  not 
enforced  by  the  pious  and  faithful  exhortations  of 
the  pastor.  To  this,  therefore,  should  the  care  of 
the  pastor  be  directed  in  a  special  manner,  that  the 
faithful  may  understand  how  and  for  what  they  are 
to  pray." 

Oh  !  how  unspeakable  a  pleasure  is  given  to  Jesus 
Christ,  by  a  pastor,  who  often,  either  in  public  or 
in  private,  complies  with  this  duty.  Would  to  God 
that  all  pastors  would  adopt  the  sentiments  of  St. 
Alphonsus,  and  could  say  with  him:  "I  would 
wish  to  do  nothing  else  than  speak  and  write  on 
this  great  means  of  prayer  ;  for,  on  the  one  hand, 
I  see  that  the  Holy  Scriptures,  including  both  the 
Old  and  New  Testament,  exhort  us  to  pray,  to  ask 
and  cry  aloud  if  we  wish  for  the  divine  grace  ;  and 
on  the  other  hand,  I  must  openly  confess  that  I  can- 
not help  complaining  of  preachers,  confessors  and 
spiritual  writers,  because  I  see  that  none  of  them 
speak  as  much  as  they  ought  of  the  great  means  of 
prayer.  And  in  the  many  courses  of  Lenten  ser- 
mons which  have  been  published,  where  shall  we  find 
a  discourse  on  prayer  ?  Scarcely  do  we  find  a  few 
passing  words  concerning  this  important  means  of 
grace.  Hence  I  have  written  at  length  on  this  sub- 
ject in  so  many  of  my  little  works,  and  whenever  I 
preach,  I  always  repeat  these  words  :  Pray,  pray,  if 
you  wish  to  be  saved  and  to  become  Saints.  It  is 
true  that,  to  become  Saints,  we  must  have  all  vir- 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL   STUDENTS.  VI 

tues,  mortification,  humility,  obedience,  and  princi- 
pally, holy  charity,  and  to  acquire  these  virtues 
other  means  besides  prayer  are  necessary,  such  as 
meditation,  Holy  Communion  and  good  resolutions  ; 
but,  unless  we  pray,  all  our  Communions,  medita- 
tions and  resolutions  will  not  make  us  practise  either 
mortification,  humility  or  obedience.  We  will 
neither  love  God  nor  resist  temptations,  in  a  Vord, 
we  will  do  no  good.  Hence  St.  Paul,  after  having 
enumerated  many  virtues  necessary  for  a  Christian, 
tells  us  to  "  be  instant  in  prayer,"  (Rom.  xii.  12.) 
thereby  giving  us  to  understand,  as  St.  Thomas  re- 
marks, "  that  to  acquire  all  necessary  virtues,  we 
must  always  pray,  because,  without  prayer,  we 
would  be  deprived  of  the  assistance  of  God,  without 
which  it  is  impossible  to  practise  virtue."  (Spouse 
of  Christ  on  Prayer,  No.  13.) 

These  sentiments  and  this  practice  of  St.  Alphon- 
sus  were  common  to  all  the  Saints.  Should  you 
ever  hear  any  one  oppose  them,  rest  assured  that  he 
cannot  say  in  truth,  with  St.  Paul :  "I  think  that 
I  also  have  the  spirit  of  God  (I  Cor.  vii.  40)  ;  nor 

'   you  believe  that  he  is  of  the  seed  of  those 
men  by  whom  salvation  was  brought  to  Israel." 
I  tfach.  v.  02.) 

I  us,  in  imitation  of  the  Saints  who  were  filled 
with  the  spirit  <»f  God,  never  feel  weary  of  repeat- 
ing this  sacred  truth,  in  public  and   in  private,  for 

but  too  true,  as  St.  Augustine  says  :  "  The  un- 


72  ON   THE   NECESSITY    OF   PRAYER 

derstanding  flies  ahead,  but  resolution  and  action 
follow  on  slowly,  or  not  at  all."  Our  will  is  still 
weaker  and  more  powerless  to  embrace  what  is 
right  than  the  understanding  is  to  comprehend. 
Hence  people  must  often  be  told  the  same  thing. 
Witness  St.  Paul,  who  says  :  "To  write  the  same 
things  to  you,  to  me  is  not  wearisome,  but  to  you  is 
necessary."  (Philip  iii.  1.)  The  Apostle  did  not 
want  matter  to  write,  for  he  who  had  been  enrap- 
tured to  the  third  heaven  was  able  to  say  many  new 
and  sublime  things,  but  he  deemed  it  necessary  often 
to  repeat  to  them  the  same  thing,  judging  this 
course  to  be  the  more  profitable  for  them.  Hence 
it  was  the  opinion  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales  that  a 
preacher  should  not  take  the  least  notice  of  those 
fastidious  minds  who  are  displeased  when  a  preacher 
repeats  a  thing  and  goes  over  the  same  ground 
again.  What  !  is  it  not  necessary,  in  working  iron, 
to  heat  it  over  and  over  again,  and  in  painting,  to 
touch  and  retouch  the  canvass  repeatedly?  How 
much  more  necessary,  then,  is  it  to  repeat  the  same 
thing  again  and  again  in  order  to  imprint  eternal 
truths  on  hardened  intellects  and  on  hearts  con- 
firmed in  evil  ?  Now,  what  can  be  more  necessary 
and  more  profitable  than  often  to  imprint  on  souls 
the  doctrine  of  prayer  ? 

But,  alas  !  how  does  it  happen  that  this  most 
essential  duty  of  a  pastor  is  neglected  by  so  many  ? 
It  is  principally  because  they  themselves  have  never 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  73 

learned  how  necessary  prayer  is,  and  how  efficacious 
if  performed  well. 

A  man  will  not  speak  what  he  knows  not,  nor 
will  he  give  what  he  does  not  possess.  To  he  ena- 
bled to  discharge  this  pastoral  duty  properly,  a 
priest  must  have  learned,  whilst  as  yet  a  student,  to 
lead  a  holy  life,  and  to  practise  faithfully  medita- 
tion and  prayer.  For  this  reason  it  has  seemed 
necessary  to  me  to  add  a  chapter  on  the  great  obli- 
gation under  which  ecclesiastical  students  are  to 
sanctify  themselves,  in  the  course  of  their  studies, 
by  the  practice  of  solid  virtue,  and  by  prayer  and 
meditation,  in  order  that,  after  their  ordination, 
they  may  be  the  better  enabled  to  inculcate  this  im- 
portant truth  of  salvation  the  more  forcibly  on  every 
mind  and  heart. 

Above  all,  I  must  remark  that  I  am  far  from  be- 
lieving that  all  who  study  for  the  priesthood  are 
called  to  it.  Alas  !  there  are  but  too  many  who 
study  from  low  and  worldly  motives,  seeking,  in 
the  ecclesiastical  state,  nothing  but  temporal  advan- 
tages. To  this  kind  of  students,  I  have  but  a  few 
w« lids  to  say.  In  order  to  save  your  souls,  you 
ought  to  consider  that  it  is  necessary  to  embrace 
that  state  of  life  to  which  God  has  called  you,  for 
in  that  state  only  you  occupy  the  place  for  which 
God  has  destined  you  from  all  eternity,  and  in  it 
ill  favor  you  with  all  the  graces  necessary  to 
fulfil  the  duties  of  vour  state  ;  out  of  it,  it  will  be 
7 


74  ON   THE  NECESSITY   OP   PRAYER 

very  difficult  for  yon,  not  to  say  altogether  impos- 
sible, to  work  out  your  salvation.  This  is  true  for 
every  state  of  life,  but  is  far  more  so  in  regard  to 
the  ecclesiastical  state.  Any  one  receiving  Holy 
Orders,  without  having  the  signs  of  a  true  vocation 
from  God,  is  guilty  of  mortal  sin.  This  is  the 
teaching  of  St.  Alphonsus,  and  of  many  learned 
theologians,  especially  of  St.  Augustine,  who  says, 
when  speaking  of  the  punishment  of  Core,  Dathan 
and  Abiron,  who  wished  to  exercise  the  duties  of 
the  High  Priest  without  being  called  thereto,  "  they 
have  been  damned  in  order  that  every  one  may  be 
deterred  from  taking  upon  himself  the  office  of  a 
High  Priest  without  being  called  to  it  by  God. 
This  fate  will  befall  all  those  who,  as  Bishops, 
Priests  or  Deacons,  intrude  themselves  into  these 
holy  dignities."  (Serm.  98.)  The  reason  for  this 
is,  first,  because  it  is  a  very  grievous  presumption  for 
one  to  dare  to  enter  into  the  holy  of  holies  without 
a  divine  vocation  ;  secondly,  because  such  a  one 
will  be  deprived  of  the  proper  means  and  graces  to 
comply  with  the  duties  of  this  holy  state,  which 
duties,  strictly  speaking,  he  might  be  enabled  to 
comply  with,  but  having  missed  the  right  road,  he 
will  find  every  other  very  steep  and  most  difficult  to 
walk  in,  and  he  will  be,  as  it  were,  like  a  misplaced 
member  of  the  human  body,  which,  indeed,  may 
still  perform  some  services,  but  not  without  great 
difficulty  and   many  defects.     Hence   St.   Ephrem 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL   STUDENTS.  75 

considers  as  reprobates  all  those  who  dare  become 
Priests  without  a  divine  vocation.  M I  am  as- 
tounded," says  he,  "  at  the  folly  of  those  who  are 
so  bold  as  to  perform  the  functions  of  the  priest- 
hood without  having  grace  for  it  from  Jesus  Christ. 
Unhappy  wretches,  who  do  not  know  that  by  doing 
so,  they  are  preparing  for  themselves  everlasting 
fire."  (De  Sacerdot.)  Most  assuredly  the  sooner 
these  students  renounce  their  course  of  life  the  bet- 
ter it  is  for  themselves  and  others. 

Now,  as  to  those  students  of  whom  Jesus  Christ 
has  said  :  "You  have  not  chosen  Me,  but  I  have 
chosen  you,"  (John  xv.  16),  let  them  consider 
well  to  what  they  are  called.  To  be  called  to  the 
priesthood  is  to  be  called  to  the  highest  dignity  on 
earth,  unsurpassed  by  any  dignity  whatsoever. 
Hence  Innocent  III.  says  of  the  Priest,  that  he  is 
placed  between  God  and  men,  and  is,  as  such,  less 
than  God,  but  more  than  man.  This  dignity  sup- 
poses, besides  the  divine  vocation,  positive  holiness 
of  life,  which  means  that  whosoever  is  to  be  invested 
witli  it  must  not  only  be  free  from  sin  and  vice,  but 
he  must  also  be  enriched  with  all  kinds  of  virtues  ; 
for  which  reason  the  Church,  during  eleven  centu- 
ries, excluded  from  this  holy  state  every  one  who 
committed,  but  once,  a  mortal  sin  alter  bap- 
tism, and  if  any  one,  after  having  received  Holy 
rf,  fell  into  a  mortal  sin,  he  was  deposed  for- 
-for  the  simple  reason  that  he  who  is  not  holy 
should  not  touch  what  is  holy. 


76  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

This  severe  discipline  of  the  Church,  it  is  true, 
lias  been  abandoned  ;  but,  at  all  times,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  he  who  was  guilty  of  grievous  sins,  and 
desired  to  receive  Holy  Orders,  should  previously 
have  led  a  pure  life  for  a  considerable  time.  It 
would,  therefore,  be  a  mortal  sin  for  one  to  receive 
any  of  the  Holy  Orders  when  still  given  up  to  a  very 
sinful  habit.  "If  I  consider  your  vocation,"  says 
St.  Bernard,  "I  am  seized  with  horror,  especially  if 
no  true  penance  has  preceded." 

Being  well  persuaded  of  this  truth,  many  of  the 
Saints  did  all  in  their  power  not  to  receive  Holy  Or- 
ders. For  this  end  St.  Ephrem  feigned  craziness  ; 
St.  Mark  cut  off  his  thumb ;  St.  Ammonia  hia  ears 
and  nose,  and  when  the  people  still  insisted  upon 
his  being  ordained,  he  threatened  to  cut  out  his 
tongue  also,  upon  which  they  desisted  from  their 
endeavors. 

It  is  well  known  that  St.  Francis  of  Assisium 
could  never  be  prevailed  upon  to  become  a  Priest, 
because  God  revealed  to  him  that  the  soul  of  a 
Priest  must  be  as  pure  as  the  water  which  he  showed 
him  in  a  crystal  vessel. 

The  Abbot  Theodore  was  a  Deacon  only,  and  he 
would  not  even  exercise  the  functions  of  this  Order, 
because,  whilst  at  prayer,  he  beheld  a  fiery  column, 
hearing  at  the  same  time  a  voice,  saying,  "  if  thy 
heart  is  as  fiery  as  this  column,  thou  mayst  exer- 
cise the  functiona  of  thy  aacred  Order." 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  77 

Strange  to  say,  there  seems  to  be  a  natural  in- 
stinct in  every  one  that  a  candidate  for  the  priest- 
hood should  be  holy  ;  the  least  fault  in  him  appears 
to  be  great,  even  in  the  eyes  of  the  most  perverse. 
"I  have  appointed  you,"  says  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  "that  you  should  go,  and  should  bring 
forth  fruit,  and  your  fruit  should  remain."  (John 
xv.  16.)  This  fruit,  that  is  to  say,  holiness  of  life, 
will  not  be  brought  forth  unless  a  student  seriously 
endeavors,  in  the  course  of  his  studies,  to  sanctify 
himself.  Let  him  not  imagine  that  sanctity  will  be 
infused  into  his  soul  by  the  sacrament  of  Holy  Or- 
ders ;  rest  assured,  that  such  as  the  student  is,  such 
also  will  be  the  Priest. 

A  light-minded  student  will  be  a  light-minded 
Priest — a  proud,  unmortified  and  sensual  student 
will  make  a  proud,  unmortified  and  sensual  Priest. 

You  must  study,  it  is  true,  to  acquire  the  neces- 
sary science,  without  which  you  would  be  unfit  for 
the  functions  of  the  sacred  ministry.  But,  my  dear 
friend,  it  is  not  learning,  but  purity  of  life  that 
qualifies  for  the  priesthood.  For  this  reason  an  an- 
cient author  says  of  those  who,  full  of  sinful  habits 
still  dare  to  receive  Holy  Orders  :  "  They  are  more 
fit  to  be  led  to  a  place  of  execution  than  to  the 
Church  to  receive  Holy  Orders."  But  it  is  not 
enough  to  be  free  of  sin  ;  he  must,  moreover,  have 
led  a  pious  life,  and  have  acquired  a  certain  facility 
in  the  practice  of  virtue.  Hence,  should  a  candi- 
7* 


78  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

date  for  any  of  the  Holy  Orders  he  habitual  in  com- 
mitting any  grievous  sin,  especially  that  of  impu- 
rity, at  the  time  when  he  is  to  he  ordained,  he  is, 
though  he  should  otherwise  he  worthily  disposed  to 
receive  the  sacrament  of  penance,  not  fit  to  receive 
either.  For,  in  order  to  receive  the  sacrament  of 
penance  worthily,  he  must  also  he  disposed  to  re- 
ceive that  of  Holy  Orders  worthily. 

Hence,  a  Confessor,  hy  absolving  such  a  candi- 
date, would  make  himself  guilty  of  mortal  sin,  and 
should  he  give  him  good  testimonials,  on  which  a 
Bishop  might  ordain  him,  he  will,  moreover,  render 
himself  guilty  of  all  those  sins  which  such  an  un- 
worthy candidate  will  still  commit. 

Holy  Orders,  then,  to  he  received  worthily,  must 
he  preceded  by  a  virtuous  life.  St.  Bernard  could 
not  refrain  from  weeping  at  the  consideration  that 
so  many  were  hasty  in  receiving  Holy  Orders  with- 
out minding  the  great  holiness  of  life  which  is  re- 
quired for  their  worthy  reception. 

According  to  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  Priests  must 
be  possessed  of  greater  interior  holiness  than  even 
religious,  on  account  of  the  holy  and  sublime 
functions  of  the  sacred  ministry,  especially  on  ac- 
count of  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  Mass.  St.  Augustine 
says  :  "  A  good  religious  will  hardly  make  a  good 
Priest,"  so  that  a  Priest  cannot  be  called  good  as 
yet,  if  he  does  not  surpass  in  virtue  a  good  religious. 

My  fears  for  students  are  not  as  to  the  acquisition 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  79 

of  knowledge,  but  that  they  will  not  acquire  suffi- 
cient holiness  of  life  before  receiving  Holy  Orders. 
The  Holy  Church  is  not  in  want  of  learned  Priests, 
but  of  very  holy  ones,  for  the  reason  that  her  can- 
didates for  the  priesthood  do  not,  whilst  they  are  stu- 
dents, make  sufficient  efforts  to  sanctify  themselves. 
I  have'always  observed  that  the  greater  portion 
of  ecclesiastical  students  make  great  efforts  to  ac- 
quire sufficient  knowledge  for  the  sacred  ministry, 
but  small  indeed  is  the  number  of  those  who  earn- 
estly try  to  lead  a  holy  life.     A  certain  natural  am- 
bition of  appearing  learned  before  others,  united  to 
the  consideration  of  being  surrounded  by  all  de- 
scriptions of  unbelievers  and  heretics,  induces  them 
to  use  every  exertion  to  learn  how  to  refute  every 
error  and  defend  the  truth  of  our  holy  religion  ;  and 
so    seriously   do  they  apply   themselves    to   their 
studies,  that   their   minds   become   altogether   ab- 
sorbed in  them.     Especially  will  this  be  the  case  if 
they  hear  or  read  a  consideration  like  the  follow- 
ing :   u  We  live  in  a  most  anti-christian  age,  princi- 
ples are  disregarded,  and  iniquity  is  held  in  venera- 
tion ;  we  see  nothing  but  confusion  in  religion,  in 
government,  in  the  family  circle.     Sects  spring  up 
and  swarm   like   locusts,  destroying   not   only  re- 
vealed religion,  but  rejecting  even  the  law  of  Nature. 
Fraud,  theft  and  robbery  are  practised  almost  as  a 
common  trade  ;  the  press  justifies  rebellion,  secret 
societies,  and  plots  for  the  overthrow  of  established 


80  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

governments.  The  civil  law,  by  granting  divorce, 
has  broken  the  family  tie  ;  children  are  allowed  to 
grow  up  in  ignorance  of  true  religious  principles, 
their  fathers  being  without  religion  or  given  up  to 
the  most  detestable  vices,  or  their  mothers  destitute 
of  virtue  and  infected  with  the  spirit  of  vanity  in 
the  highest  degree,  the  natural  consequence  of  which 
is  that  they  are  regardless  of  their  parents.  How 
great  is  the  tendency  to  act  contrary  to  the  spirit  of 
religion,  manifesting  itself  both  in  education  and  in 
action.  The  number  of  apostates  is  on  the  increase, 
at  least  in  the  younger  generation  ;  immoral  books 
and  tracts  circulate  freely ;  daily  journals,  weekly 
magazines,  the  great  organs  of  public  opinion,  be- 
come more  unchristian  every  day,  so  much  so  that 
no  one  who  has  at  heart  the  morality  of  his  fellow 
men,  especially  of  youth,  can,  with  propriety,  re- 
commend them  for  perusal ;  and  yet  how  eagerly  are 
they  sought  for  and  devoured,  as  it  were,  by  every 
class  of  men.  It  is  indeed  lamentable  that  many 
whose  duty  it  is  to  oppose  themselves  to  the  torrent 
of  these  and  many  other  evils  too  tedious  to  enume- 
rate, rather  encourage  them  by  their  manner  of 
living." 

Such  diseases  of  the  human  mind  and  heart,  the 
student  will  think,  require  remedy.  He  will  think 
that,  to  counteract  and  check  them,  will  require 
much  learning  and  information,  and  that,  therefore, 
an  exact  and  serious  study  of  philosophy  and  theol- 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL   STUDENTS.  81 

ogy  will  be  an  excellent  means  of  stemming  this 
torrent  of  moral  evils.  But  here  lies  the  stumbling 
block  for  the  generality  of  students  ;  they  endeavor 
to  cultivate  the  mind  rather  than  the  heart  ;  to  fill 
their  memory  with  the  principles  of  philosophy  and 
the  profane  sciences  rather  than  with  the  doctrines 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Saints ;  to  care  more  for 
knowing  their  lessons  well  than  for  making  a  good 
meditation  ;  to  trouble  themselves  more  for  appear- 
ing prepared  before  their  professor  and  school  mates 
than  before  Jesus  Christ  in  Holy  Communion  ;  they 
will  endeavor  to  find  the  best  way  of  connecting 
one  point  with  another  in  a  discourse,  rather  than 
making  a  good  examination  of  conscience  ;  to  be 
more  anxious  to  acquire  a  reputation  for  learning 
and  great  capabilities  than  for  true  humility  and 
sincere  charity  ;  they  will  be  more  pleased  with  the 
flatteries  and  praises  of  the  world  than  the  good 
pleasure  of  Jesus  Christ  and  His  holy  Angels  ;  to 
be  able  to  show  acuteness  in  reasoning,  and  ability 
in  delivering  a  learned  discourse,  will  be  with  them 
of  greater  weight  than  to  manifest  the  spirit  of 
meekness,  forbearance,  condescension,  obedience  and 
submission  in  all  their  words  and  actions.  Their 
desire  will  be  more  for  profane,  frivolous  books,  than 
for  those  which  nourish  piety  and  inspire  love  for 
solitude  and  prayer.  In  a  word,  they  will  make 
greater  efforts  to  acquire  the  wisdom  of  the  world 
than  that  of  Jesus  Christ  and  His  Saints.     To  this 


82  ON   THE   NECESSIIY   OF   PRAYER 

end  all  of  their  thoughts,  words  and  actions  will  be 
directed,  and  thus  study  becomes  for  them  rather  a 
means  of  greater  separation  from  God  than  of  closer 
union  with  Him. 

My  complaint  of  students  is  not  for  their  applica- 
tion to  studies,  but  for  their  attaching  too  much  im- 
portance to  them,  and  for  the  erroneous  manner  by 
which  they  acquire  the  various  sciences.  I  consider 
that  many  students  attach  too  much  importance  to 
sciences,  imagining  that  by  means  of  them  they 
will  convert  the  world. 

Now,  learning  can  do  something,  it  is  true,  but 
however  much  it  may  accomplish,  experience  teaches 
in  the  present  as  in  the  past,  that  moral  evils  never 
yield  to  any  force  but  that  of  the  grace  of  G-od.  A 
learned  man  may  enlighten  the  mind  of  his  fellow 
men  and  expel  its  darkness  and  errors,  but  for  all 
that  their  hearts  will  not  embrace  the  truth.  Hence 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  writing  to  one  of  his  priests, 
says  :  "No,  it  is  neither  philosophy,  nor  theology, 
nor  eloquence  which  moves  the  soul."  This  was 
felt  keenly  by  St.  Bernard  whilst  at  Paris,  1123, 
where  he  was  invited  by  the  high  schools  to  deliver 
a  learned  discourse  on  one  of  the  principal  questions 
in  philosophy.  Having  prepared  himself  most  care- 
fully for  the  occasion,  he  delivered  an  eloquent  dis- 
course before  a  large  auditory,  but  without  making 
the  least  pious  impressions  on  his  hearers.  This 
made  him  sad  and  ashamed  of  himself,  so  much  so 


I    UNIVERSI 

FOR   BOCLBSASnCAL   STUDENTS.  83 

that,  shutting  himself  up  in  his  room,  he  lamented 
his  failure  with  many  sighs  and  tears,  and  with 
earnest  prayer  to  God,  implored  the  Divine  assist- 
ance. 

The  day  after  he  spoke  again  in  public,  but  now 
it  was  the  Holy  Ghost  that  spoke  by  his  mouth  and 
guided  his  tongue,  and  his  discourse  made  so  deep 
an  impression  on  his  hearers,  that  several  priests 
followed  the  Saint  to  Clairvaux,  there  to  lead  a  per- 
fect life  under  his  wise  direction.  (History  of  St. 
Bernard  by  Theo.  Katisbonne,  vol.  I.,  chap.  11.) 
It  is  related  in  the  life  of  this  saint,  that  mothers 
would  keep  their  children,  wives  their  husbands, 
and  friends  their  friends  from  hearing  him,  because 
the  Holy  Ghost  gave  such  great  power  to  his  words 
that  no  one  could  resist  them,  but  every  one  felt 
drawn  to  follow  him  or  lead  at  least  altogether 
another  life. 

Alas,  there  are  but  too  many  who  imitate  St. 
Bernard  in  his  first  discourse  at  Paris.  Like  him 
they,  too,  know  how  to  prepare  most  learned  dis- 
courses, lectures,  sermons  and  instructions,  using 
the  most  eloquent  terms  of  the  language  to  convey 
their  ideas  to  the  minds  of  their  hearers,  but  they 
fail  in  reaching  the  heart,  and  derive  from  their 
efforts  no  other  fruit  than  a  few  remarks  from  the 
If,  calculated  to  flatter  their  self  love  and  nour- 
pride.  "  How  well,"  they  will  say,  "  he  has  ac- 
quitted himself  !    What  an  eloquent  tongue  !    What 


84  ON  THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

profound  knowledge  !  What  an  admirable  memory  ! 
What  a  fascinating  preacher  !  What  a  pleasure  it 
is  to  listen  to  such  a  man  !  I  never  had  such  a 
treat  in  my  life  I"  Would  to  God  they  would  imi- 
tate St.  Bernard  in  his  preparation  for  his  second 
•discourse  ;  how  different  would  be  the  fruit  of  their 
labors.  Let  us  hear  the  saints  in  reference  to  this 
point.  "  You  must  consider,"  says  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul,  "that  learning  without  humility  has  ever 
done  much  harm  to  the  Church,  that  pride  has 
always  led  the  most  of  learned  men,  like  the  rebel- 
lious angels,  to  everlasting  perdition,  and  that  God 
does  not  need  learned  men  to  carry  out  His  wise 
designs  and  accomplish  His  works.  Nay,  that  gen- 
erally speaking,  He  makes  use  of  the  simple  to  con- 
vert men  and  procure  the  welfare  of  His  Church,  as 
Pie  did  of  the  Apostles,  and  in  recent  times  of  St. 
Catherine  of  Sienna,  and  of  St.  Teresa,"  and  of 
late,  I  may  add,  of  the  Cure  of  Ars  in  France.  St. 
Ignatius  says,  "  it  is  of  greater  importance  for  stu- 
dents to  advance  in  virtue  than  in  science  ;  if  they 
cannot  do  both  at  the  same  time,  virtue  must  have 
the  preference,  minus  scientia?,  plus  virtutis."  (Life 
by  C.  Genelli.)  St.  Francis  of  Assisium  said  to 
those  who,  on  entering  his  order,  were  already  sci- 
entifically prepared,  and  wished  to  apply  themselves 
to  the  study  of  Holy  Scripture  :  "I  am  well  pleased 
with  this,  provided,  according  to  the  example  of 
Jesus,  Who  seems  to  have  devoted  more  time  to 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  85 

prayer  than  to  anything  else,  they  do  not  neglect 
the  exercise  of  prayer,  and  study  to  practise  what 
they  have  learned  rather  than  to  know  what  they 
have  to  speak."  "  The  truths  of  the  Gospel,"  he 
would  say,  "are  better  understood  by  those  who  prac- 
tise them  than  by  those  who  know  them,  but  neglect 
to  put  them  into  practice.  A  man  possesses  know- 
ledge and  eloquence  only  in  as  much  as  he  prac- 
tises what  he  knows  and  says.  We  behold  many 
who  endeavor  to  acquire  great  learning,  but  happy 
is  he  who  knows  Jesus  Christ  crucified."  Those 
studies  which  are  applied  to  from  the  motive  of 
vanity,  to  earn  the  praises  and  flatteries  of  men 
rather  than  from  the  pure  motive  to  gain  souls  to 
God,  were  an  abomination  in  his  eyes.  "  In  the 
day  of  tribulation,"  he  would  say  of  these  men, 
"  their  hands  will  be  empty  ;  it  would  be  better  for 
them  now  to  endeavor  to  be  strengthened  and  con- 
firmed in  virtue  in  order  to  have  the  Lord  for  sup- 
port at  that  time,  for  the  time  will  come  when 
books  will  be  rejected  as  useless  articles.  My  breth- 
ren should,  therefore,  endeavor  to  be  grounded  in 
humility,  simplicity,  in  prayer,  and  in  the  virtue  of 
poverty.  This  is  the  only  sure  way  of  edifying 
their  neighbor  and  of  procuring  his  salvation,  be- 
cause they  are  called  to  imitate  Jesus  Christ,  Who 
did  not  follow  or  show  any  other  road.  Many  will 
abandon  these  virtues  under  the  specious  pretext  of 
edifying  their  neighbor  by  their  learning,  but  they 
8 


86  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

will  go  so  far  that  the  possession  of  sciences  by 
which  alone  they  thought  they  would  be  filled  with 
light,  devotion  and  love  for  God,  will  be  for  them 
the  cause  of  interior  coldness  and  emptiness.  Hence, 
it  will  come  to  pass  that,  having  lost  their  time  in 
vain  and  false  studies  to  live  up  to  the  spirit  of  their 
state  of  life,  they  will  find  themselves  incapable  of 
returning  to  their  primitive  vocation." 

St.  Francis  was  by  no  means  averse  to  sciences, 
on  the  contrary,  he  inculcated  to  his  brethren, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  teach  others,  to  apply  them- 
selves properly  to  study  ;  but  he  always  opposed 
strenuously  that  vain,  proud  science,  which  is  always 
without  devotion,  preaching  itself  instead  of  the  Cru- 
cified. He  would  always  have  before  his  eyes  the  fol- 
lowing passages  of  Holy  Scripture  :  u  Many  will  say 
to  Me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  prophe- 
sied in  Thy  Name,  and  cast  out  devils  in  Thy  Name, 
and  done  many  miracles  in  Thy  Name  ?  And  then 
will  I  profess  unto  them,  I  never  knew  you ;  depart 
from  Me,  you  that  work  iniquity."  (Matt.  vii.  22- 
23.)  And  again  :  "  If  I  speak  the  tongues  of  men  and 
of  Angels,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as  a 
sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal."  (I  Corinth, 
xiii.  1.)  And:  " I  chastise  my  body  and  bring  it 
into  subjection,  lest,  perhaps,  when  I  have  preached 
to  others,  I  myself  should  become  a  cast  away." 
(I  Corinth,  ix.  27.) 

Besides,  he  was  aware  that  man  is  naturally  more 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  87 

inclined  to  know  than  to  practise,  and  that  virtues 
which  purity  the  soul  are  more  necessary  and  more 
precious  gifts  than  learning,  which  enlightens  the 
mind  only.  He  knew  very  well  that  "  knowledge 
puffeth  up,"  (I  Corinth,  viii.  1)  and  that  a  learned 
man  is  easily  inclined  to  be  proud  and  self-conceited 
if  Christian  charity  does  not  keep  him  humble. 

St.  Alphonsus  spoke  in  the  same  manner  :  ft  The 
Apostle  St.  Paul,"  said  he,  "  wrote  of  this  world's 
wisdom  :  '  Knowledge  puffeth  up,  but  charity  edi- 
fieth.  If  any  man  think  he  knoweth  anything,  he 
hath  not  yet  known  as  he  ought  to  know.'  I  Cor. 
viii.  1-2.) 

Knowledge,  united  to  the  love  of  God,  is  most 
useful  to  us  and  to  our  neighbor,  but  if  charity  does 
not  accompany  it,  it  does  us  much  harm  by  making 
us  proud  and  leading  us  to  despise  others  ;  for  the 
Lord  is  merciful  to  the  humble,  but  severe  to  the 
proud.  Happy  is  the  man  to  whom  God  has  given 
the  wisdom  of  the  Saints,  which  He  bestowed  on 
the  righteous  Abel.  '  He  gave  him  the  knowledge 
of  the  holy  things.'  (Wisdom  x.  10.)  The  Holy 
Spirit  speaks  of  this  as  the  greatest  of  all  gifts. 
How  many  do  we  not  see  who  are  puffed  up  because 
they  understand  mathematics,  literature,  languages 
and  antiquities  ?  What  does  religion  gain  by  their 
knowledge?  What  do  they  do  for  their  own  spirit- 
ual advancement  ?  What  do  those  numerous  learned 
men  gain  from  their  knowledge  whose  mind,  though 


OO  ON   THE  NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

adorned  with  so  many  acquirements,  know  not  even 
how  to  love  God  so  as  to  practise  virtue. 

The  Lord  refuses  His  light  to  those  sages  of  the 
world  who  only  labor  to  obtain  self-renown,  and  he 
grants  them  only  to  the  simple.  '  I  confess  to 
Thee,  0  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  because 
Thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  pru- 
dent, and  hast  revealed  them  to  little  ones.' 
(Matt.  xi.  25.)  By  little  ones  are  to  be  understood 
those  only  who  seek  to  please  God.  'Happy,'  says 
St.  Augustine,  '  is  he  who  knows  God,  His  Great- 
ness and  His  Goodness,  though  he  be  ignorant  of 
all  besides  ;  for  he  who  knows  God  cannot  help  lov- 
ing Him.  Now,  he  who  loves  is  wiser  than  all  the 
learned  of  the  earth  who  have  not  this  love/ 

1  The  ignorant  arise/  exclaimed  the  same  Doc- 
tor, '  and  obtain  heaven  !  How  many  ignorant 
people,  how  many  poor  villagers  sanctify  themselves 
day  by  day  and  obtain  eternal  life,  a  single  instant 
of  which  is  preferable  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  the 
goods  of  the  earth/  St.  Paul  wrote  to  the  Corin- 
thians :  c  I  judged  not  myself  to  know  anything 
among  you  but  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified/  (I 
Cor.  ii.  2.)  Happy  are  we  if  we  acquire  the  know- 
ledge of  Jesus  Christ,  of  the  love  He  has  shown 
us  on  the  cross.  Verily,  by  studying  the  books  of 
the  crucifix,  we  shall  come  to  love  Him  with  love 
more  than  common.' 

And   on   another   occasion,    St.  Alphonsus  said : 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  89 

"  We  must  study,  it  is  true,  because  we  are  labor- 
ers, but  we  ought  to  be  fully  persuaded  that  the  one 
thing  needful,  and  that  which  Jesus  Christ  requires 
above  everything  else  is,  that  we  should  endeavor 
to  be  saved  as  Saints.  We  must  study,  but  the  sole 
object  of  study  ought  to  be  that  of  pleasing  God, 
otherwise  it  will  only  cause  us  to  be  a  long  time  in 
purgatory,  nay,  even  lead  some,  perhaps,  into  the 
torments  of  hell,  which  may  God  forbid.  Let  your 
aim,  then,  always  be  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good 
of  souls,  and  when  an  opportunity  occurs  of  seem- 
ing ignorant,  do  not  recoil  from  it,  for  it  will  not 
hurt  you." 

An  ecclesiastical  student,  then,  must  consider 
knowledge,  in  itself,  only  as  a  sounding  brass,  a 
tinkling  cymbal,  a  source  of  pride,  and  of  many 
other  great  evils  ;  or  as  a  sharp  knife,  which,  if 
not  handled  well,  may  cause  serious,  even  mortal 
wounds  to  the  soul.  This  consideration  must  be 
for  him  a  great  incentive  to  study  in  a  proper  man- 
ner and  spirit. 

I  will  now  place  before  you  the  wise  advice  which 
we  find  in  the  writings  of  learned  and  saintly  men, 
on  the  holy  manner  and  right  spirit  of  studying. 

We  read  of  Blessed  Balthasar  Alvarez,  S.  J., 
that  he  employed  all  possible  care  to  prevent  studies 
from  doing  harm  to  piety.  He  succeeded  in  doing 
so  by  the  following  means  : 

First.  Above  all,  he  tried  to  inculcate  to  the  stu- 
8* 


90  ON  THE  NECESSITY  OF  PRAYER 

dents'  minds  some  striking  truths,  such  as  these — 
virtue  and  knowledge  are  the  two  trees  planted  by 
God  in  Paradise  ;  they  are  the  two  luminaries,  the 
one  greater,  the  other  smaller,  created  by  Him  to 
light  up  the  world ;  they  are  the  two  Testaments, 
the  Old  and  the  New  Law,  and  Grace  ;  they  are 
the  two  sisters,  Martha  and  Mary,  living  under  one 
roof  in  great  union  and  harmony,  and  giving  sup- 
port to  one  another.  Holiness  gives  authority  and 
weight  to  knowledge.  Knowledge,  if  only  theo- 
retical, is  indeed  very  poor  to  persuade ;  it  is  the 
living  up  to  it  that  gives  it  persuasive  power. 
Hence  the  Apostle  said  to  Timothy:  "Take  heed 
to  thyself  and  to  doctrine  ;  for,  in  doing  this,  thou 
shalt  both  save  thyself  and  them  that  hear  thee." 
(Tim.  iv.  16.)  From  this  truth  he  derived  another 
one  on  which  he  insisted  very  much,  viz  :  that  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge  becomes  so  much  the  easier 
the  more  one  endeavors  to  acquire  virtue.  "  Who 
does  not  know,"  said  he,  t(  that  knowledge  is  a  gift 
of  God,  Who  communicates  it  so  much  the  more 
readily  to  those  who  ask  it  the  more  they  purify 
their  conscience."  Hence,  an  ecclesiastical  student 
should  make  greater  efforts  to  avoid  sin  and  correct 
his  faults  than  to  study  learned  authors,  and  run 
through  many  books.  For,  according  to  Cassian, 
"  it  is  purity  of  life  that  enlightens  the  mind  and 
sees  God."  To  such  a  one  it  is  given  to  understand 
everything  without  difficulty. 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  91 

Secondly.  This  zealous  director  of  souls  was  not 
less  careful  to  inspire  the  students  with  love  for 
mortification  as  another  means  to  make  them  ad- 
vance equally  in  perfection  and  science. 

But  who  would  imagine  that  mortification  could 
be  an  aid  for  advancing  in  science  ?  Nevertheless, 
he  knew  how  to  persuade  them  of  this  also.  "  Try 
it,"  he  said,  "  especially  in  regard  to  study,  and 
you  will  find  out  that  there  is  nothing  better  cal- 
culated to  remove  difficulties.  For  by  mortification 
you  will  overcome  your  enemy,  and  your  natural 
desire  tempting  you  to  occupy  your  mind  with  study 
when  there  is  no  time  for  it,  as,  for  instance,  at  the 
time  of  prayer.  By  it,  you  will  do  violence  to  pride, 
which  feels  hurt  by  the  questions  of  the  Professor, 
and  the  objections  of  your  fellow-students." 

Thirdly.  Mortification  will  induce  you  to  apply 
only  to  such  branches  of  science  as  are  assigned  for 
you,  and  to  learn  only  what  is  useful,  and  not  what 
is  an  incentive  to  curiosity. 

Fourthly.  By  it  you  will  prefer  the  advice  of  your 
professors  to  your  own  views  and  opinions,  studying 
one  thing  and  not  another.  This  was  the  counsel 
of  St.  Augustine  when  he  said,  "  That  student 
knows  much  who  knows  how  to  profit  by  the  advice 
of  his  professor.  If  the  latter  has  the  eyes  of  know- 
ledge, the  former  should  have  the  eyes  of  docility." 
"  You  ought  to  look  upon  yourselves  as  so  many 
little  children,"  said  St.  Alphonsus.     "  It  is  for  the 


92  ON  THE  NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

master  to  judge  what  is  fit  for  you,  and  to  supply 
you  with  the  occupations  which  may  be  best  fitted 
to  cultivate  your  minds.  Many  remain  ignorant  for 
wishing  to  know  too  much." 

Fifthly.  By  it  you  will  be  prevented  from  boasting 
before  others  of  more  knowledge  than  you  really 
possess,  and  from  pretending  to  acquirements  which 
you  have  not. 

Sixthly.  Mortification  will  make  you  study  dili- 
gently and  perseveringly,  for  by  it  you  will  overcome 
a  certain  disgust  and  reluctance,  a  certain  laziness 
and  indolence,  trying  to  keep  in  your  room  and 
avoid  useless  conversation. 

Seventhly.  By  it  you  will  study  without  anxiety 
of  heart  and  mind.  Nothing  is  more  detrimental 
to  the  acquisition  of  solid  science  than  overgreat 
anxiety  in  studying,  in  consequence  of  which  every- 
thing is  superficially  learned.  As  discretion  is  a 
virtue,  so  too  much  ardor  is  a  vice.  "  Sapere,  et 
sapere,  ad  sobrietatem." 

Eighthly.  By  mortification  you  will  overcome  both 
a  certain  shame  to  ask  for  an  explanation  of  such 
things  as  you  do  not  fully  understand,  and  a  certain 
laziness  to  take  a  memorandum  of  what  was  ex- 
plained, or  of  useful  things  which  you  read.  "  Multa 
scribendo  didici,"  says  St.  Augustine. 

Ninthly.  From  a  spirit  of  mortification  you  will 
refrain  from  looking  through  the  Sacred  Orators 
during  the  course  of  study,  and  from  making  a  se- 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  93 

lection  of  subjects  for  the  pulpit.  "  This  is  but  a 
mere  temptation,"  said  St.  Alphonsus,  "  because  by 
that  you  neglect  what  is  essential  for  a  mere  acces- 
sory." To  collect  materials  with  any  good  result, 
he  ought  to  have  finished  his  studies,  for  otherwise 
he  derives  no  profit  from  it,  and  does  not  study  as 
he  ought. 

He  often  impressed  on  the  minds  of  the  students 
the  necessity  of  studying  with  a  pure  intention. 
11  The  life  of  a  student/'  he  would  say,  "  is,  in  it- 
self, a  very  quiet  one,  and  how  little  soever  his 
efforts  may  be  to  regulate  it  well,  he  will  easily 
learn  a  good  deal  without  relaxing  in  zeal  and 
fervor  for  his  perfection.  Should  his  fervor  dimin- 
ish, it  will  certainly  be  his  own  fault,  which,  no 
doubt,  he  will  avoid,  if  he  always  endeavors  to  study 
with  a  pure  intention.  ft  The  right  manner  of  learn- 
ing," says  St.  Bernard,  "is  to  know  the  true  end 
for  which  everything  should  be  learned,  namely,  not 
to  study  to  obtain  food  for  vain  glory,  and  for  the 
spirit  of  curiosity,  or  for  something  similar,  but  for 
one's  own  edification,  or  for  that  of  our  neighbor. 
There  are  some  who  wish  to  know  merely  for  the 
sake  of  knowing.  This  is  a  detestable  curiosity  ; 
others  wish  to  know  in  order  to  become  known 
themselves,  and  this  is  an  execrable  vanity  ;  others 
again,  learn  in  order  to  sell  their  science,  and  this 
is  hateful  profit.  But  there  are  others  who  try  to 
acquire  learning  in  order  to  be  enabled  to  edify  their 


94  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OP   PRAYER 

fellow  men,  and  this  is  Charity.  Others,  again, 
apply  to  the  study  of  sciences  in  order  to  edify  them- 
selves, and  this  is  Wisdom.  These  two  latter  kinds 
of  men  do  not  abuse  knowledge,  studying  as  they 
do,  in  order  to  do  good."     (Serm.  26  in  Cantel.) 

A  student,  then,  to  comply  in  peace  of  heart  with 
his  duty  of  advancing  in  piety  and  knowledge  at 
the  same  time,  must  have  in  view  no  other  object 
than  the  good  pleasure  of  God.  It  is  something 
great,  Father  Alvarez  used  to  say,  to  know  theology, 
but  what  greater  fruits  can  he  derive  from  it  than 
to  learn  by  it  so  to  regulate  his  life  as  never  to  wish 
for  anything  contrary  to  God's  holy  will.  Hence, 
he  will  not  feel  uneasy  if  he  does  not  learn  more 
than  he  can  or  is  allowed.  "Let  us  not  feel  dis- 
turbed about  not  knowing  what  God  does  not  wish 
us  to  know.  To  know  that  He  does  not  will  it  must 
suffice  to  resign  ourselves  to  His  adorable  will." 
"  Knowledge,"  says  St.  Bonaventure,  "which  is 
neglected  for  the  sake  of  virtue,  will  afterwards  be 
acquired  easily  by  virtue." 

Finally,  he  spared  no  efforts  and  trouble  to  inspire 
the  students  with  a  great  love  for  prayer,  as  a  most 
efficacious  means  to  make  rapid  progress,  both  in 
virtue  and  in  science.  He  knew  this  but  too  well  by 
his  own  experience,  but  his  modesty  would  not  allow 
him  to  speak  of  himself,  hence  he  would  cite  to  them 
the  example  of  the  Abbot  Theodore,  of  whom 
Cassian  relates  that  he  had  acquired  great  learning, 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  95 

more  by  endeavoring  to  purify  his  heart,  and  by 
assiduous  application  to  prayer,  than  by  reading 
many  books.  On  a  certain  day,  wishing  to  know 
the  meaning  of  a  passage  of  Holy  Scripture,  he 
studied  long  over  it  without  success.  He  com- 
menced to  pray,  and  at  once  he  understood  its 
meaning/' 

It  was  by  prayer  that  Solomon  obtained  his  great 
wisdom,  and  taught  us  to  obtain  it  by  the  same 
means.  "Give  me  Wisdom  that  sitteth  by  Thy 
throne,  and  cast  me  not  off  from  among  Thy 
children  ;  for  I  am  Thy  servant,  a  weak  man,  and  of 
short  time,  and  failing,  short  of  the  understanding 
of  judgment  and  laws.  Send  her  out  of  Thy  holy 
heaven,  and  from  the  throne  of  Thy  Majesty,  that 
she  may  be  with  me,  that  I  may  know  what  is 
acceptable  to  Thee.  For  she  knoweth  and  under- 
standeth  all  things.  The  thoughts  of  men  are 
fearful,  and  our  counsels  uncertain.  For  the  cor- 
ruptible body  is  a  load  upon  the  soul,  and  the 
earthly  habitation  presseth  down  the  mind  that 
museth  upon  many  things,  and  hardly  do  we  guess 
aright  at  things  that  are  upon  earth,  and  with  labor 
do  we  find  the  things  that  are  before  us.  But  the 
things  that  are  in  heaven,  who  shall  search  out ; 
and  who  shall  know  Thy  thoughts,  except  Thou 
give  wisdom,  and  send  Thy  Holy  Spirit  from  above. 
And  so  the  ways  of  them  that  are  upon  earth  may 
be  corrected,  and  men  may  learn  the  things  that 


96  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

please  Thee.  For  by  wisdom  they  were  healed, 
whosoever  have  pleased  Thee,  0  Lord,  from  the  be- 
ginning."    (Wisdom  9.) 

And  in  the  next  chapter,  he  praises  the  wonderful 
deeds  which,  by  means  of  this  wisdom,  were  per- 
formed by  Adam,  Lot,  Jacob,  Joseph,  Moses,  and 
the  Hebrews.  "This  wisdom,"  says  Solomon, 
"preserved  him  that  was  first  formed  by  God,  the 
father  of  the  world,  (Adam)  when  he  was  created 
alone,  and  she  brought  him  out  of  his  sin,  and  gave 
him  power  to  govern  all  things." 

She  delivered  the  just  man  (Lot)  who  fled  from 
the  wicked  that  were  perishing  when  the  fire  came 
down  upon  Pentapolis.  She  conducted  the  just 
when  he  fled  from  his  brother's  wrath  (Jacob  flying 
from  Esau)  through  the  right  ways,  and  showed 
him  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  gave  him  the  know- 
ledge of  the  holy  things,  made  him  honorable  in 
his  labors,  and  accomplished  his  labors,  that  he 
might  overcome  and  know  that  wisdom  is  mightier 
than  all.  __ 

She  forsook  not  the  just  when  he  was  sold, 
(Joseph)  but  delivered  him  from  sinners.  She  went 
down  with  him  into  the  pit,  and  in  bands  she  left 
him  not,  till  she  brought  him  the  sceptre  of  the 
kingdom,  and  power  against  those  that  oppressed 
him,  and  showed  them  to  be  liars  that  had  accused 
him,  and  gave  him  everlasting  glory. 

The   delivered   the  just  people   (Israelites)   and 


FOR  ECCLESIASTICAL   STUDENTS.  97 

blameless  seed  from  the  nations  (Egyptians)  that 
oppressed  them.  She  entered  into  the  soul  of  the 
servant  of  God,  (Moses)  and  stood  against  dreadful 
things,  iu  wonders  and  signs." 

In  the  same  manner  St.  Anthony,  the  Hermit, 
asked  wisdom  of  God,  and  obtained  it. 

" He  was,"  says  St.  Athanasius  in  his  life,  "  very 
wise,  and  what  was  most  admirable  in  him  was,  that 
he  was  most  ingenius,  most  discreet,  constant,  and 
meek,  although  he  had  never  studied  anything. 
Heathen  philosophers  came  to  him,  believing  they 
would  be  able  to  deceive  him  by  their  arguments. 
But  he  answered  them,  c  If  you  have  come  to  a  fool 
then  your  trouble  is  useless,  but  if  you  consider  me 
as  a  wise  man,  then  imitate  what  you  see.  Had  I 
come  to  you,  I  would  try  to  imitate  you  ;  but  as  you 
have  come  to  me  as  to  a  wise  man,  you  should  be 
what  I  am — Christians.'  The  philosophers  admired 
the  acuteness  of  his  mind. 

St.  Anthony  asked  them  again  :  '  Which  of  these 
two  is  the  best,  good  sense  or  knowledge,  and  what 
is  the  beginning  of  either  ?  Does  good  sense  pro- 
ceed from  knowledge,  or  knowledge  from  good 
sense?' 

When  they  answered  him,  that  good  sense  was 
the  author  and  inventor  of  science,  he  said,,  '  Well, 
then,  he  who  has  perfect  good  sense  needs  no  science.' 
Just  as  if  he  said,  '  I  am  one  who  never  applied  to 

nire  knowledge,  but  I  am  taught  by  God.'  " 
9 


98  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

St.  Ambrose,  too,  obtained  wisdom  in  the  same 
manner,  as  Paulinus  relates  in  his  life :  "When  he 
dictated  the  forty-third  Psalm,  I  saw  come  upon  him 
a  little  flame  of  fire,  (indicating  the  Holy  Ghost) 
which  sat  down  upon  his  head,  and  by  degrees  en- 
tered his  mouth,  as  into  a  house  there  to  live,  after 
which  his  face  became  like  snow." 

When  the  Abbot  Kupert  was  required  to  tell  who 
were  his  fathers  and  teachers,  he  answered,  "I 
hereby  confess  that  to  be  visited  from  above  is  better 
for  me  than  ten  fathers  and  teachers.  I  dictate 
whatever  that  heavenly  monitor  suggests  tome." 

St.  Thomas  Aquinas  publicly  avowed  that  he 
owed  his  wisdom  more  to  prayer  than  to  his  efforts 
in  studying. 

When  St.  Ephrem  prayed,  saying,  "  Pour  out, 
0  Lord,  upon  me  the  waters  of  Thy  grace,"  he  re- 
ceived in  a  vision  from  the  angels,  a  book,  and  with 
it  heavenly  wisdom,  and  the  gift  of  eloquence  to 
such  a  degree  that  howsoever  overflowing  the  source 
of  his  words  was,  they  never  could  fully  express 
what  he  had  conceived  in  his  mind.  For  the  pro- 
foundness of  his  doctrine  and  the  quickness  of  his 
thoughts  were  such  as  to  absorb  his  tongue,  so  that 
it  was  unable  to  speak  out  the  conceptions  of  his 
mind.     (Life  by  Nyssenus.) 

In  our  own  times  we  have  a  most  striking  exam- 
ple in  the  Cure  of  Ars.  "How  could  this  man," 
says  the  writer  of  the  "Spirit  of  the  Cure  of  Ars," 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  99 

"  who  had  nearly  been  refused  admittance  into  the 
great  seminary  because  of  his  ignorance,  and  who 
had,  since  his  promotion  to  the  Priesthood,  been 
solely  employed  in  prayer,  and  in  the  labors  of  the 
confessional,  how  could  he  have  attained  to  the 
power  of  teaching  doctrine,  like  one  of  the  Fathers 
of  the  Church  ?  Whence  did  he  derive  his  aston- 
ishing knowledge  of  God,  of  nature,  and  of  the 
history  of  the  soul  ?  How  was  it  that  his  thoughts 
and  expressions  so  often  coincided  with  those  of  the 
greatest  Christian  geniuses,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Ber- 
nard, St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  St.  Catherine  of  Sienna, 
St.  Teresa?" 

The  spirit  of  God  has  been  pleased  to  engrave 
on  the  heart  of  this  holy  Priest  all  that  he  was  to 
know,  and  to  teach  to  others.  And  it  was  the  more 
deeply  engraved  as  that  heart  was  the  more  pure  ; 
the  more  detached  and  empty  of  the  vain  science  of 
men  ;  like  a  clear  and  polished  block  of  marble 
ready  for  the  chisel  of  the  sculptor. 

The  faith  of  the  Cure  of  Ars  was  his  whole 
science  ;  his  book  was  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He 
sought  for  wisdom  nowhere  but  in  Jesus  Christ,  in 
nis  death  and  in  His  Cross.  To  him  no  other  wis- 
dom was  true,  no  other  wisdom  useful.  He  sought 
it  not  amid  the  dust  of  libraries,  not  in  the  school 
of  the  learned,  but  in  prayer,  or  on  his  knees,  at 
his  Master's  feet,  covering  his  Divine  feet  with 
tears  and  kisses  ;  in  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Taber- 


100  ON  THE  NECESSITY  OF  PRAYER 

nacle,  where  he  passed  his  days  and  nights,  before 
the  crowd  of  the  Pilgrims  had  as  yet  deprived  him 
of  liberty  day  and  night,  he  had  learnt  it  all. 

Thus  prayer  is  a  most  powerful  means  of  becom- 
ing truly  learned.  "  If  any  one  wants  wisdom  let 
him  ask  it  of  God,  who  giveth  to  all  men  abundant- 
ly, and  it  shall  be  given  to  him."     (James  i.,  5.) 

But  there  are,  besides  this,  other  reasons  of 
greater  weight,  and  more  persuasive  for  an  ecclesi- 
astical student  to  apply  himself  earnestly  and 
assiduously  to  prayer.  "  In  order  to  be  enabled  to 
draw  souls  to  God,  he  himself  must  first  be  drawn 
by  God,"  says  St.  Alphonsus.  But  this  is  done  in 
prayer  only.  Men  truly  holy  and  Apostolic  knew 
this  but  too  wrell.  Hence,  we  read  in  the  lives  of 
St.  Dominic,  St.  Francis  Xavier,  St.  Francis  Regis, 
St.  Alphonsus,  Blessed  Leonard  of  Port  Maurice, 
that  having  labored  during  the  day  for  the  salvation 
of  souls,  they  would  at  night  retire  to  pray. 

For  this  reason  Father  Vincent  Caraffa,  in  writing 
to  the  young  ecclesiastics,  who  applied  to  study  in 
order  to  save  souls,  addressed  to  them  the  following 
remarkable  words:  "  In  order  to  effect  great  con- 
versions, much  prayer  is  of  far  greater  service  than 
eloquence.  Eternal  truths  make  quite  a  different 
impression  when  they  proceed  from  the  heart,  than 
when  they  are  preached  from  the  lips.  Hence,  the 
practice  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  ought  to  be  in 
conformity  to  their  teaching  ;  in  a  word,  they  ought 


FOR  ECCLESIASTICAL   STUDENTS.  101 

to  show  that  they  are  quite  detached  from  the  world, 
and  from  themselves,  and  only  occupied  in  procur- 
ing God's  glory,  and  making  Him  loved  by  all." 

St.  Fraucis  de  Sales  confessed  of  himself  that  his 
•  3  and  prayers  had  contributed  more  towards 
the  conversion  of  the  province  of  Chablais  than  all 
his  talents.  "The  Apostles,"  said  he,  "never 
preached  the  word  of  God  without  having  sent  most 
fervent  prayers  to  heaven.  Deceived  is  he  who 
wishes  to  convert  infidels,  heretics,  or  great  sinners, 
by  other  means  than  those  which  Jesus  Christ  and 
his  Apostles  made  use  of.  God  alone  can,  by  His 
grace,  change  the  hearts  of  men,  for  which  we  can 
never  sufficiently  pray." 

"  The  labor  of  a  Priest  who  is  not  given  up  to 
prayer/'  says  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  "will  be  of 
little  or  no  avail,  whilst,  on  the  contrary,  with 
prayer,  he  will  touch  hearts  and  convert  souls.  Yes, 
give  me  a  man  of  prayer,  and  all  things-will  suc- 
ceed with  him.  He  will  be  able  to  say,  with  St. 
Paul,  '  I  can  do  all  things  in  Him  Who  strength- 
ened me.'  Prayer  is  a  large  sermon  book,  by 
means  of  which  they  will  draw  the  eternal  truths 
from  their  source,  and  then  communicate  them  to 
the  people." 

Indeed,  such  a  one  may  say  with  our  Lord  Jesus 

-t,  "  I  speak  that  which  I  have  seen  with  My 

Father,"    (John   nil.,    38,)   and    with   St.    John, 

"That  which  was  from  the  beginning,  which  we 


102  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

have  heard,  which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes, 
which  we  have  looked  upon,  we  declare  unto  you 
that  you  also  may  have  fellowship  with  us,  and  our 
fellowship  may  be  with  the  Father,  and  with  His 
Son,  Jesus  Christ. "  (John  i.,  1,  3.)  What  the 
people  said  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  will  say  also  of 
him.  "  He  was  teaching  as  one  having  power,  and 
not  as  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees."  (Matt,  vii.,  29.) 

"St.  Francis  de  Sales,"  said  the  Duchess  de 
Montpensier,  in  speaking  of  this  Saint,  "  has  done 
me  an  immense  harm,  since  all  other  preachers  of 
the  word  of  God  do  no  longer  please  me,  because, 
whilst  others  are  losing  themselves  in  lofty  lan- 
guage, he  endeavors  to  catch  souls  by  attacking  the 
hearts  and  rendering  himself  perfect  master  of 
them." 

"  The  Cure  of  Ars  is  a  most  admirable  example  of 
this  truth.  When  persons  have  heard  this  saintly 
priest  so  ready  to  proclaim  his  ignorance,  discourse 
upon  heaven,  on  the  sacred  Humanity  of  our  Lord, 
on  His  dolorous  passion,  His  Keal  Presence  in  the 
Most  Holy  Sacrament  of  our  altars,  on  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  her  attractions,  and  her  greatness,  or 
the  happiness  of  the  Saints,  the  purity  of  the  Angels, 
the  beauty  of  souls,  the  dignity  of  man,  on  all  those 
subjects  which  were  familiar  to  him,  it  often  hap- 
pened that  they  came  away  from  the  discourse  quite 
convinced  that  the  good  Father  saw  the  things  of 
which  he  had  spoken  with  such  fullness  of  heart, 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL   STUDENTS.  103 

with  such  eloquent  emotion,  in  such  passionate 
accents,  with  such  abundant  tears  ;  and,  indeed, 
his  words  were  then  impressed  with  a  character  of 
Divine  tenderness,  of  sweet  gentleness,  and  of  pen- 
etrating unction,  which  was  beyond  all  comparison. 
There  was  so  extraordinary  a  majesty,  so  marvellous 
a  power  in  his  voice,  in  his  gestures,  in  his  looks,  in 
his  transfigured  countenance,,  that  it  was  impossible 
to  listen  to  him  and  remain  cold  and  unmoved. 

"  Views  and  thoughts,  imparted  by  a  Divine  light, 
have  quite  a  different  bearing  from  those  acquired 
by  study.  Doubt  was  dispelled  from  the  most  re- 
bellious hearts,  and  the  admirable  clearness  of  faith 
took  its  place  before  so  absolute  a  certainty  ;  an  ex- 
position at  once  so  luminous  and  so  simple. 

"  The  word  of  the  Cure  of  Ars  was  the  more  effica- 
cious because  he  preached  with  his  whole  being. 
His  mere  presence  was  a  manifestation  of  the  truth, 
and  of  him  it  might  be  well  said  that  lie  would 
have  moved  and  convinced  men  even  by  his  silence. 
When  there  appeared  in  the  pulpit  that  pale,  thin 
and  transparent  face,  when  you  heard  that  shrill, 
piercing  voice,  like  a  cry,  giving  out  to  the  crowd 
sublime  thoughts,  clothed  in  simple  and  popular 
language — you  fancied  yourself  in  the  presence  of 
one  of  those  great  characters  of  the  Bible,  speaking 
BO  in  the  language  of  the  Prophets.  You  were 
already  filled  with  respect  and  confidence,  and  dis- 
posed to  listen,  not  for  enjoyment,  but  for  profit. 


104  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

u  To  those  to  whom  it  was  given  to  assist  at  his 
catechetical  instructions,  two  things  were  equally 
remarkable — the  preacher  and  the  hearer.  They 
were  not  the  words  that  the  preacher  gave  forth — it 
was  more  than  words  ;  it  was  a  soul,  a  holy  soul, 
all  filled  with  Faith  and  Love,  that  poured  itself 
out  before  you,  of  which  you  felt  in  your  own  soul 
the  immediate  contact,  and  the  warmth.  As  for  the 
hearer  he  was  no  longer  on  the  earth ;  he  was 
transported  into  those  purer  regions  from  which  dog- 
mas and  mysteries  descend.  As  the  Saint  spoke, 
new  and  clear  views  opened  to  the  mind — heaven 
and  earth,  the  present  and  the  future  life,  the  things 
of  Time  and  Eternity,  appeared  in  a  light  that  you 
had  never  before  perceived. 

"  When  a  man  coming  fresh  from  the  world,  and 
bringing  with  him  worldly  ideas,  feelings  and  im- 
pressions, sat  down  to  listen  to  his  doctrine,  it 
stunned  and  amazed  him  ;  it  set  the  world  so  utterly 
at  defiance,  and  all  that  the  world  believes,  loves, 
and  extols.  At  first  he  was  astonished  and  thun- 
derstruck, then  by  degrees  he  was  touched  and 
surprised  into  weeping  like  the  rest. 

"No  eloquence  has  drawn  forth  more  tears,  or 
penetrated  deeper  into  the  hearts  of  men.  His  words 
opened  a  way  before  them  like  flames,  and  the  most 
hardened  hearts  melted  like  wax  before  the  fire. 
They  were  burning,  radiating,  triumphant ;  they 
did  more  than  charm  the  mind ;  they  subdued  the 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  105 

•whole  soul,  and  brought  it  hack  to  God.  Not  by 
the  long  and  difficult  way  of  argument,  but  by  the 
paths  of  emotion,  which  lead  shortly  and  directly 
to  the  desired  end. 

"  He  wras  the  oracle  that  people  went  to  consult, 
that  they  might  learn  to  know  Jesus  Christ.  Not 
only  the  sinful,  but  the  learned,  not  only  the  fervent, 
but  the  indifferent,  found  in  it  a  Divine  unction 
which  penetrated  them,  and  made  them  long  to  hear 
it  again.  The  more  they  heard,  the  more  they 
wished  to  hear  ;  and  they  always  came  back  with 
love  to  the  foot  of  that  pulpit  as  to  the  place  where 
they  had  found  beauty  and  truth.  Nothing  more 
clearly  showed  that  the  Cure  of  Ars  was  full  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  who  alone  is  greater  than  our  heart. 
AVe  may  draw  from  His  depths  without  ever  exhaust- 
ing them,  and  the  Divine  satiety  which  He  gives 
only  excites  a  greater  appetite. 

"The  Cure  of  Ars  spoke  without  any  other  prepa- 
ration than  his  continual  union  with  God.  He 
passed  without  interval  or  delay  from  the  confes- 
sional to  the  pulpit ;  and  yet  lie  showed  an 
imperturbable  confidence  which  sprang  from  com- 
plete and  absolute  forgetfulness  of  himself.  Besides, 
no  one  was  tempted  to  criticise  him.  People  gene- 
rally criticise  those  who  are  not  indifferent  to  their 
opinion  of  them.  Those  who  heard  the  Cure  of 
Ars  had  something  else  to  do — they  had  to  pass 
judgment  on  themselves. 


106  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

"  This  real  power  of  his  word  supplied  in  him  the 
want  of  talent  and  rhetoric.  It  gave  a  singular 
majesty  and  an  irresistible  authority  to  the  most 
simple  things  that  issued  from  those  venerable  lips. 
He  loosed  his  words  like  arrows  from  the  bow,  and 
his  whole  soul  seemed  to  fly  with  them. 

"In  these  effusions,  the  pathetic,  the  profound, 
the  sublime,  was  often  side  by  side  with  the  simple 
and  the  ordinary.  They  had  all  the  freedom  and 
irregularity,  but  also  all  the  originality  and  power 
of  an  improvisation.  We  have  sometimes  tried  to 
write  down  what  we  had  just  heard,  but  it  was  im- 
possible to  recall  the  things  which  had  most  moved 
us,  and  to  put  them  into  form.  What  is  most  Divine 
in  the  heart  of  man  cannot  be, expressed  in  writing. ' ' 
(The  Spirit  of  the  Cure  of  Ars.) 

Alas,  how  true  is  that  saying  of  St.  Thomas  of 
Villanova  :  "  Experience  shows  every  day  that 
a  priest  of  moderate  learning,  but  full  of  the  love 
of  Jesus  Christ,  converts  more  souls  than  seve- 
ral learned  orators  put  together,  whose  eloquent 
discourses  charm  whole  populations.  With  fine 
thoughts,  curious  allusions  and  ingenious  reflec- 
tions, it  is  easy  to  send  away  the  auditors  in 
admiration,  but  they  also  return  cold  in  Divine  love, 
and  perhaps  colder  than  they  were  before.  Of  what 
use  are  such  discourses  to  the  people  and  the 
preacher  ?  They  only  serve  to  render  him  more 
vain  and  more  culpable  towards  the  Divine  Majesty. 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL   STUDENTS.  107 

To  convert  sinners,  and  draw  them  out  of  the  mire 
of  vice,  requires  arrows  of  fire,  or  words  full  of 
Divine  love." 

Hence,  St.  Jerome  would  say  that  "  One  man  in- 
flamed with  this  love  is  sufficient  to  convert  a  whole 
nation." 

"One  word,"  says  St.  Alphonsus,  "uttered  by 
a  priest  inflamed  with  Divine  love  will  produce 
more  good  than  a  hundred  sermons  composed  by  a 
great  Divine,  who  has  but  little  love  for  God." 

"'  A  polished  discourse/'  says  St.  Jerome,  "only 
gratifies  the  ears  ;  one  which  is  not  so,  makes  its 
way  to  the  heart." 

"  I  have  always  said  ever  since,"  says  St.  Francis 
de  Sales,  "that  whoever  preaches  with  love,  preaches 
sufficiently  against  heresy,  although  he  may  not 
utter  a  single  word  of  controversy  against  it.  For 
these  thirty-three  years  that  God  has  called  me  to 
the  sacred  office  of  breaking  the  bread  of  His  Word 
to  the  people,  I  have  certainly  remarked  that  prac- 
tical sermons,  wherein  the  subject  is  treated  with 
devotion  and  with  zeal,  are  so  many  burning  coals 
thrown  into  the  faces  of  the  Protestants  who  hear 
the  in  ;  that  they  are  always  pleased  and  edified  by 
them,  and  are  thereby  rendered  more  docile  and 
reasonable  when  we  come  to  confer  with  them  on 
disputed  points." 

Now,  it  is  not  in  the  study  of  books,  but  in  holy 
:  an-1  meditation,  that  the  hearts  become  en- 


108  ON   THE   NECESSIIY   OF   PRAYER 

kindled  with  Divine  love,  zeal  and  devotion.  For 
this  reason,  St.  Alponsus  exclaims:  "Alas!  how 
much  more  did  St.  Philip  Neri  learn  in  the  cata- 
combs of  Kome,  where  he  spent  whole  nights  in 
prayer,  than  in  all  the  books  he  studied?  How 
much  more  did  St.  Jerome  learn  in  the  grotto  of 
Bethlehem  than  in  all  his  other  studies." 

St.  Paulinus  writes  (Ep.  27)  :  "  Let  the  philoso- 
phers of  this  world  have  their  philosophy  ;  the  rich 
their  riches ;  kings  their  kingdoms,  our  wisdom, 
our  riches  ;  our  kingdom  is  to  know  Jesus  Christ. "■ 
Hence  we  must  exclaim,  with  St.  Francis  of  Assisi : 
M  My  God  and  my  all  I"  For  this  reason,  an  eccle- 
siastic ought  so  to  study  as  to  make,  at  the  same 
time,  greater  progress  in  the  science  of  the  Saints, 
in  prayer,  and  in  the  love  of  God,  than  in  the  ac- 
quisition of  other  sciences. 

"It  will  often  happen,"  says  St.  Alphonsus, 
"  that  in  prayer  you  will  learn  more  in  one  moment 
than  in  a  ten  years'  study." 

"Incomparably  greater  knowledge  of  God,"  says 
St.  Bonaventure,  (Theo.  Myst.  c.  3,  p.  2.)  "  is  com- 
municated to  the  soul  by  a  strong  desire  of  being 
united  to  Him  in  love  than  can  be  obtained  by  any 
study  whatever." 

"Great  talents  are  required,"  says  St.  Alphon- 
sus, "  to  acquire  profane  sciences,  but  to  acquire  the 
science  of  the  saints,  one  needs  but  a  good  will." 

"He  who   loves  God  more,"  says  St.  Gregory> 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL   STUDENTS.  109 

11  has  also  a  greater  knowledge  of  Him."  He  who 
relishes  God  by  loving  Him  sees  and  knows  Him 
more  clearly.  He  who  has  tasted  of  honey  knows 
more  of  it  than  all  the  philosophers  who  explain  its 
nature  without  having  ever  tasted  it... 

M  reover  it  takes  much  time  and  trouble  to  ac- 
quire profane  sciences,  but  to  acquire  the  science  of 
the  saints  it  suffices,  says  St.  Alphonsus,  "  to  will  it 
earnestly  and  ask  it  of  God."  The  wise  man  says, 
11  wisdom  is  easily  seen  by  them  that  love  her,  and  is 
fouwl  by  them  that  seek  her.  She  preventeth  them 
that  covet  her,  so  that  she  first  showeth  herself  unto 
them.  He  that  awaketh  early  to  seek  her  shall  not 
labor,  for  he  shall  find  her  sitting  at  his  door." 
(Wisdom  vi.  13 — 16.)  But  this  wisdom  or  love  of 
God  must  be  sought  and  asked  in  prayer,  as  St. 
James  the  Apostle  writes.  I  am,  however,  far  from 
denying  that  study  is  necessary  ;  I  wish  only  to 
say  that  the  study  of  Jesus  Christ  crucified  is  more 
necessary. 

St.  Paulinus,  in  wrriting  to  a  certain  Jovian,  who 
studied  so  much  the  writings  of  philosophers  "with- 
out caring  for  his  progress  in  virtue,  excusing  him- 
self by  saying  that  he  had  no  time,  answers  him  : 
"  You  have  time  to  become  a  philosopher,  and  you 
have  none  to  be  a  Christian." 

There  are  many  students  who  spend  almost  their 
whole   time   in   studying   mathematics,   geometry, 
astronomy,   profane  history,   philosophy,  etc.,  ex- 
10 


HO  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

cusing  themselves  that  there  is  no  time  left  them 
for  prayer  and  meditation.  With  truth,  you  may 
answer  them  :  You  have  time  to  become  a  learned 
man  and  you  have  none  to  prepare  yourself  wor- 
thily for  Holy  Orders.  Did  not  Seneca  tell  a  great 
truth  when  he  said:  "We  do  not  know  what  is 
necessary,  because  we  learn  what  is  surperfluous  ?" 
(De  brev.  irt.  c.  1.)  Certainly,  it  would  be  much 
better  for  a  student  to  give  up  studying  than  to  let 
his  studies  interfere  with  his  spiritual  progress. 

The  Apostles  had  received  from  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  a  most  important  mission,  to  go  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  all  nations,  and  yet  they  looked  upon 
prayer  as  on  something  more  necessary  and  more 
important.  Hence,  when  they  saw  that  their  too 
numerous  labors  interfered  with  this  sacred  duty, 
they  chose  seven  Deacons,  that  they  might  do  part 
of  their  work,  saying  :  u  But  we  will  give  ourselves 
continually  to  prayer,  and  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Word."  (Acts  vi.  4.)  They  say  expressly,  we 
must  give  ourselves  first  to  prayer,  and  then  only 
to  tire  preaching  of  the  Word  of  God,  knowing  very 
well  that  preaching,  without  prayer  having  pre- 
ceded, would  be  fruitless. 

St.  Teresa  wrote  the  same  to  the  Bishop  of  Osma, 
who,  for  over  great  zeal  for  his  flock,  gave  but  little 
time  to  prayer  and  meditation.  "Our  Lord," 
writes  the  Saint  (8th  letter),  "  gives  me  to  under- 
stand that  you  need  what  is  most  necessary — prayer 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  Ill 

and  meditation,  and  perseverance  therein,  from  the 
want  of  which  proceeds  that  dryness  from  which 
your  soul  suffers." 

St.  Bernard,  too,  told  Pope  Eugene  never  to  omit 
prayer  for  the  sake  of  exterior  occupations,  as  oth- 
erwise his  heart  might  become  so  hardened  as  not 
even  to  mind  any  longer  the  stings  of  conscience 
for  faults  committed  ;  nay,  might  become  so  in- 
different as  not  to  detest  even  faults  committed. 
Hence  St.  Ignatius  did  not  hesitate  to  remove  many 
from  study  who  could  not  apply  to  it  with  calmness 
of  heart,  and,  therefore,  found  in  it  an  obstacle  to 
their  spiritual  advancement.  "  It  may  be,"  he  said, 
that  they  are  fit  for  study,  but  study  is  not  fit  for 
them."  "  For  what  does  it  profit  a  man,"  he  would 
say,  "  if  he  gaineth  the  whole  world  but  cometh  to 
suffer  the  loss  of  his  soul."  "For  this  end,"  said 
he,  "  he  must  always  labor  ;  everything  else  must 
be  but  a  means  tending  thereto.  By  this  principle 
he  must  be  guided  in  all  his  actions."  (Life  by 
C.  Genelli.) 

St.  Charles  Borromeo  made  it  a  rule  that  a  candi- 
date for  the  priesthood  should,  before  his  ordination, 
be  asked  in  particular  whether  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  making  his  meditation,  and  in  what  manner  he 
did  it ;  and  Father  Avila,  S.J.,  dissuaded  every  one 
from  becoming  a  priest  who  was  not  given  up  to 
prayer. 

Indeed,  a  student  who  is  not  fond  of  meditation 


112  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OP   PRAYER 

and  prayer,  will  never  be  a  good  and  holy  priest. 
Whatever  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  chapters 
on  the  necessity  of  prayer  for  all  men,  in  order  to 
sanctify  themselves,  is  more  justly  applicable  to  an 
ecclesiastical, student ;  for,  intending,  as  he  does,  to 
embrace  so  holy  a  state,  he  is  under  greater  obliga- 
tion than  the  laity  to  sanctify  himself,  which  he  will 
never  do  without  being  addicted  to  prayer.  Woe  to 
him,  should  he  be  ordained  without  having  given, 
during  the  course  of  his  studies,  the  preference  to 
prayer,  above  all  his  other  exercises  and  occupations. 
His  heart  will  be  like  a  barren  soil  and  a  hard  rock. 
Experience  teaches  that  nothing  is  more  apt  to  dry 
up  the  heart  than  studies  without  prayer.  Like  a 
sponge,  they  absorb  all  the  waters  of  its  pious  sen- 
timents and  devotion.  As  a  man  attacked  by 
cholera  feels  cold  all  over  his  body,  so,  and  far  more 
so,  does  a  student  feel  in  his  soul,  without  a  love  for 
prayer.  By  degrees  his  heart  becomes  like  a  pond 
that  has  a  larger  outlet  than  inlet  of  water.  The 
dry  land  will  soon  make  its  appearance.  "  He  saw 
that  the  face  of  the  earth  was  dried."  (Genesis 
viii.,  13.) 

Studies  without  prayer,  are,  in  reality,  a  cholera 
upon  heart  and  soul.  Destitute  of  interior  light  as 
he  is,  he  will  neither  think  of  the  necessity  of  sanc- 
tifying himself,  nor  of  the  obstacles  thereto,  and  of 
the  obligations  he  must  comply  with  to  save  himself 
and  others.    Having  no  lively  faith,  his  genuflections 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  113 

at  the  altar  will  be  like  the  bows  of  a  puppet. 
Could  you  see  his  interior  disposition  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  rites,  in  the  administration  of  the 
sacraments,  you  might  be  tempted  to  believe  that 
you  saw  an  actor  on  the  stage,  or  in  the  recital  of 
his  office,  a  harlequin  going  through  his  role.  He 
will,  as  far  as  interior  spirit  and  devotion  are  con- 
cerned, not  be  much  unlike  a  bird  which  has  been 
taught  to  sing.  In  preaching,  he  will  resemble  a 
boy  reciting  a  lesson  which  he  was  forced  to  learn  by 
heart.  When  speaking  of  the  love  of  God,  or  on 
other  virtues,  he  will  belike  a  man  who  writes  geog- 
raphy in  his  room,  without  having  ever  seen  any  other 
part  of  the  world  than  his  native  place.  In  a  word, 
the  functions  of  his  ministry,  instead  of  being  for  him 
a  source  of  Divine  graces  and  benedictions,  will  be- 
come as  many  sources  of  maledictions  ;  for  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  did  not  say  in  vain,  "  Many  will  say 
to  me  in  that  day,  '  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  pro- 
phesied in  Thy  Name,  and  cast  out  evils  in  Thy 
Name,  and  done  many  miracles  in  Thy  Name/  (by 
administering  the  sacraments,)  and  then  will  I  pro- 
fess unto  them,  I  never  knew  you  ;  depart  from  Me 
you  that  work  iniquity."     (Matt,  vii.,  22.) 

It  is  not  my  object  to  show  here  how  far  this 
iniquity  will  progress  by  degrees,  nor  to  insist  any 
longer  upon  the  necessity  of  prayer  for  an  ecclesias- 
tical student.  I  content  myself  by  saying,  with 
Father  Avila,  that  should  he  not  have  loved  and 
10* 


114  OX   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER 

practiced  prayer  in  the  course  of  his  studies,  he  will 
be  unfit  for  ordination,  because  he  cannot  possess 
any  such  solid  virtue  as  is  required  for  the  worthy 
reception  of  Holy  Orders,  and  as  gives  hopes  that 
he  will  be  faithful  to  God,  M  for,"  says  St.  Bernard, 
"  if  I  see  one  not  possessed  of  great  love  for  prayer, 
I  think  at  once  to  myself  that  there  is  scarcely  any- 
thing good  in  him."  "  Little  good,"  says  St.  Yin- 
cent  de  Paul,  "is  to  be  expected  from  a  man  who 
does  not  love  to  commune  with  God." 

Hence  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  said  to  St.  Anthony 
of  Padua  :  "lam  well  pleased  that  you  teach  the- 
ology to  your  brethren,  provided  you  do  it  in  such 
a  manner  that  neither  in  you,  nor  in  your  brethren, 
love  and  fervor  for  prayer  may  be  diminished." 
(His  life.) 

And  St.  Alphonsus  wrote  to  the  students,  after 
the  departure  of  a  certain  professor  who  had  intro- 
duced among  them  a  forced  application  to  study, 
which  very  much  afflicted  Alphonsus,  because  he 
could  not  suffer  it :  "I  am  not  sorry  when  I  see  you 
retrench  your  studies  and  give  more  time  to  prayer. 
We  have  been  called  to  succor  poor  destitute  souls  ; 
for  this  reason  we  have  more  need  of  sanctity  than 
of*  science.  If  we  are  not  holy,  we  are  exposed  to 
the  peril  of  falling  into  a  thousand  imperfections. 
I  repeat  to  you  once  more,  if,  to  give  to  spirituality, 
you  retrench  some  from  your  studies,  far  from  being 


FOR   ECCLESIASTICAL  STUDENTS.  115 

sorry,   I  shall,   on  the  contrary,  experience  great 
consolation."     (Life,  V.  vol.  p.  34.) 

Father  John  de  Starchia,  Provincial  of  the  Friars 
Minor  in  Lombardy,  having  been  upbraided  in  vain 
by  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  for  having  introduced 
forced  studies,  and  made  regulations  more  favora- 
ble to  science  than  to  piety,  was  publicly  cursed  by 
this  Saint,  and  deposed  at  the  ensuing  chapter. 
The  Saint,  on  being  entreated  to  withdraw  this 
curse  and  give  his  blessing  to  Brother  John,  who 
was  a  learned  nobleman,  answered:  "I  cannot 
bless  him  whom  the  Lord  has  cursed."  A  dreadful 
reply,  which  was  soon  after  verified.  This  unfor- 
tunate man  died,  exclaiming:  "I  am  damned  and 
cursed  for  all  eternity/ '  Some  frightfur  circum- 
stances, which  followed  after  his  death,  confirmed 
his  awful  prediction.  Such  a  malediction,  whicli 
pride  and  (Jisobedience,  the  natural  consequences  of 
neglect  of  prayer,  brought  upon  this  learned  man, 
ought  to  strike  terror  into  those  vain  men,  espe- 
cially those  ecclesiastics  who  forsake  piety  and  prayer 
for  science,  and  in  whom  learning  and  talents  have 
no  other  effects  than  to  produce  in  them  great  at- 
tachment to  their  own  conceits  and  proud  indocility, 
which  induces  them  at  length  even  to  revolt  against 
the  Church.  To  escape  these,  or  similar  fatal  con- 
sequences, and  to  render  themselves  always  more 
worthy  of  their  sublime  vocation,  ecclesiastics  must 
adopt  the  motto  of  St.  Alphonsus,  "  Soli  Deo  etstu- 


116  ON   THE   NECESSITY   OF   PRAYER,  AC. 

diis,"  or  that  of  Father  Passerat,  "  D'abard  l'orai- 
son  et  puis  l'etude  ;"  prayer  first  and  then  study. 

Hoping  that  none  of  those  who  read  this  book 
will  belong  to  that  class  of  men  of  whom  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  has  said  :  "  I  know  that  My  word  has 
no  place  in  you  ;"  (John  viii.  37.)  "  And  why  do 
you  not  know  My  speech?  Because  you  cannot 
hear  My  word  ;"  (Vers,  xliii.  45.)  "  If  I  say  the 
truth  to  you,  why  do  you  not  believe  Me  ;  he  that 
is  of  God  heareth  the  words  of  God,  therefore  you 
hear  them  not  because  you  are  not  of  God,"  I 
conclude  by  saying,  that  if  you  put  in  practice  what 
has  been  said  you  will  gather  a  large  treasure  of 
science  and  piety,  from  which,  as  a  learned  and  holy 
scribe  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  you  will  one  day 
"  bring  forth  new  things  and  old,"  (Matt.  xiii.  52), 
proving  yourself  a  faithful  minister  and  steward, 
(I  Cor.  xiii.  8),  and  like  a  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vant, being  found  worthy  to  be  placed  by  your  Lord 
over  many  things."     (Matt.  xxv.  23.) 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  JUST.  117 


CHAPTER  V. 

ON    THE   EFFICACY   OF   THE   PRAYER   OF   THE   JUST. 

MY  dear  reader,  were  I  to  ask  you  :  '  Is  there 
any  power  in  the  world  to  which  God  Him- 
self submits  ?'  Most  undoubtedly  you  would  an- 
swer :  •'  No  ;  there  is  none,  and  to  maintain  the 
contrary  is  to  incur  the  guilt  of  heresy  and  blas- 
phemy.' Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  all  this,  I  dare 
assert,  without  the  slightest  fear  of  committing  the 
sin  either  of  heresy  or  of  blasphemy,  that  there  is  a 
power  to  which  Almighty  God  feels  Himself  obliged 
to  yield.  'And  what  is  this  power?'  you  will 
eagerly  ask.  '  It  is  the  power  of  the  prayer  of  the 
just.'  Innumerable  passages  in  Holy  Writ,  and  in 
the  lives  of  the  Saints,  prove  this  great  truth.  I 
selected  several  for  this  chapter,  in  the  hope 
that  you  will  find  them  interesting,  and  that  they 
will  contribute  to  inflame  your  heart  with  still 
greater  love  and  fervor  for  prayer. 

We  read  in  Exodus  (c.  32,  v.  10),  that  God  was, 
one  day,  very  much  incensed  against  the  Jews  ;  for, 
in  spite  of  the  astounding  miracles  He  had  wrought 
in  their  behalf,  when  freeing  them  from  the  galling 


118"  ON   THE   EFFICACY   OF 

yoke  of  Egyptian  slavery,  they  had  fallen  into  the 
most  heinous  crime  of  idolatry.  Exasperated  at 
this  most  provoking  offence,  the  Lord  resolved  to- 
blot  out  this  ungrateful  people  from  the  face  of  the 
earth.  He  was  on  the  point  of  pouring  out  His 
wrath  upon  them  when  He  desisted  and  refrained 
from  giving  full  vent  to  His  just  indignation. 
Why  ?  Because  there  was  one  to  interpose  and 
arrest  His  anger.  Who  was  it  ?  Moses.  By  what 
means  did  he  bring  about  the  reconciliation  of  God 
with  His  people?  By  prayer.  Moses,  the  holy 
and  faithful  servant  of  God,  the  leader  of  the  Isra- 
elites, interceded  for  them,  and,  by  dint  of  earnest 
entreaty,  arrested  the  arm  of  God  uplifted  to  smite 
an  ungrateful  people.  "  Let  me  alone,"  says  the 
Lord  to  Moses,  "  that  My  wrath  may  be  kindled 
against  them  and  that  I  may  destroy  them." 

Behold  the  struggle  between  an  angry  God  and 
His  suppliant  servant ;  between  justice  and  prayer. 
"  Let  Me  alone,"  ah  !  beloved  Moses,  let  Me  alone  ; 
let  Me  alone,  that  My  wrath  may  be  kindled  against 
them.  "Let  Me  alone;"  do  not  oppose  Me  any 
longer  ;  I  will  and  I  must  take  revenge  ;  I  cannot 
forbear  any  longer.  "  Let  Me  alone  ;"  let  Me  exe- 
cute justice  ;  if  you  yield  to  My  wish,  I  will  make 
of  you  a  great  nation,  i.  e.,  the  leader  of  another 
great  nation.  Certainly,  as  St.  Jerome  (in  Ezech. 
c.  13)  remarks,  "  he  who  says  to  another  :  '  Let  me- 
alone,'  gives  to  understand  that  he  is  in  his  power, 
under  his  control  !" 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  JUST.  119 

But  Moses  did  not  yield  ;  on  the  contrary,  he 
boldly  demanded  pardon  of  the  Lord  for  the  Jews, 
saving  :  "  Why,  0  Lord,  is  Thy  indignation  aroused 
against  Thy  people  whom  Thou  hast  brought  out  of 
the  land  of  Egypt,  with  great  power  and  with  a 
mighty  hand  ?  Let  not  the  Egyptians  boast,  I  be- 
seech Thee  :  He  craftily  brought  them  out  that  He 
might  kill  them  in  the  mountains  and  efface  them 
from  the  earth  :  let  Thy  anger  cease,  and  be  ap- 
peased upon  the  waywardness  of  Thy  people." 
What  was  the  issue  of  this  well-contested  struggle 
between  God  and  Moses?  Which  of  the  two  came 
off  victorious?  Was  it  the  Lord?  No;  He  saw 
Himself  subdued  by  the  power  of  Moses'  prayer,  for 
"the  Lord  was  appeased,"  says  Holy  Scripture, 
"  from  doing  the  evil  which  He  had  spoken  against 
His  people." 

Something  similar  took  place  at  the  time  of  the 
prophet  Jeremias.  Again  the  Jews  had  committed 
atrocious  crimes,  and  the  wrath  of  the  Lord  was 
kindled  anew.  Again  He  wanted  to  reject  and  an- 
nihilate them.  "  And  I  will  cast  you  away  from 
before  My  face,  as  I  have  cast  away  all  your  breth- 
ren." (Isais.  vii.  15.)  But  before  inflicting  this 
punishment,  the  Lord  had  to  entreat  His  servant 
Jeremias  not  to  intercede  in  behalf  of  the  victims 
is  anger.  And  the  Lord  said  to  the  prophet: 
••  Therefore  do  not  thou  pray  for  this  people,  nor 
tab-  to  thee  praise  and  supplication  for  them,  and 


120  ON    THE   EFFICACY   OF 

do  not  ivithstand  Me"  (Verse  16),  for  if  you  do,  the 
Lord  means  to  say,  I  shall  not  be  able  to  pour  out 
My  wrath  upon  this  people. 

Again,  God  visited  this  perverse  people  with  a 
destructive  fire  as  a  chastisement  for  their  sinful 
lives.  Great,  indeed,  must  have  been  the  anger  of 
God  which  obliged  Him  to  send  this  frightful 
plague,  yet  still  greater  was  the  power  of  Aaron's 
prayer,  since  it  prevailed  again  upon  the  Lord  and 
induced  Him  to  quench  the  fire  immediately.  Moses 
said  to  Aaron  :  ls  Take  the  censer,  and  putting  fire 
in  it  from  the  altar,  put  incense  upon  it,  and  go 
quickly  to  the  people  to  pray  for  them,  for  already 
wrath  is  gone  out  from  the  Lord  and  the  plague 
rageth."  (Numbers  xvi.  46.)  What  was  the  re- 
sult? "  A  blameless  man  (Aaron)  made  haste  to 
pray  for  the  people,  bringing  forth  the  shield  of  his 
ministry,  prayer,  and  by  incense  making  supplica- 
tion, witJistood  the  ivrath  and  put  an  end  to  the  calam- 
ity, showing  that  he  tvas  Thy  servant."  (Wisdom 
xviii.  21.)  Thus  Aaron  checked  this  devouring  flame 
which  had  already  consumed  fourteen  thousand  and 
seventy  men,  not  indeed  by  water,  but  by  placing 
himself  between  the  living  and  the  dead,  offering 
fervent  prayer  to  the  Lord.  "  And  standing  be- 
tween the  dead  and  the  living,  he  prayed  for  the 
people  and  the  plague  ceased."     (Num.  xvi.  48.) 

At  the  time  of  the  deluge,  Noah  became  the  re- 
conciler of  man  with  God,  as  we  read  in  the  Book  of 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  JUST.  121 

Ecclesiasticus,  chap.  xliv.  17,  God,  for  his  sake, 
putting  an  end  to  the  deluge,  and  saving  in  him 
and  his  family  the  whole  human  race.  "Noah 
was  found  perfect,  just."  Hence  it  was  that  he 
could  appease  the  wrath  of  God  :  "  And  in  the 
time  of  wrath  he  was  made  a  reconciliation." 

What  made  Attila,  the  scourge  of  God,  retreat 
so  suddenly  and  give  up  his  plan  of  invading  Italy  ? 
It  was  the  prayer  of  St.  Leo,  Pope,  in  deference  to 
which  God  sent  so  great  a  consternation  upon  Attila 
that  he  felt  himself  forced  to  withdraw.  What  put 
an  effectual  check  to  the  ravages  of  pestilence  at  the 
time  of  St.  Gregory  ?  Nothing  but  the  prayers  of 
this  Saint.  What  terminated  the  persecutions  of 
the  ten  Roman  emperors  ?  Was  it  not  the  prayer 
of  St.  Silvester,  who  healed,  converted,  and  bap- 
tized Constantine  the  Great  ?  Do  we  not  come 
across  similar  examples  in  almost  all  the  lives  of 
the  Saints  ?  The  hands  of  God  are,  then,  so  to 
speak,  bound  By  the  prayer  of  men  eminently  just, 
fat  He  feels  free  to  act  if  such  men  cannot  be  found. 
A-  Be  Himself  declared  by  the  prophet  Ezechiel : 
(chap.  xxii.  30.)  "  And  I  sought  among  them  a 
man  that  might  set  up  a  hedge  and  stand  in  the 
gap  before  Me  in  favor  of  the  land,  that  I  might 
not  destroy  it ;  and  I  found  none.  And  I  poured 
out  My  indignation  upon  them  ;  in  the  fire  of  My 
wrath  I  consumed  them." 

The  terrible  fate  of  Sodom,  as  related  in  the  Book 
11 


122  ON   THE   EFFICACY   OF 

of  Genesis,  is  an  evident  proof  of  this  truth.  No 
sooner  had  Abraham  learned  that  God  intended  to 
destroy  this  city  with  its  inhabitants,  than  he  com- 
menced to  intercede  for  it,  saying  to  the  Lord : 
"  Wilt  Thou  destroy  the  just  with  the  wicked?  If 
there  be  fifty  just  men  in  the  city,  shall  they  perish 
withal  ?  and  wilt  Thou  not  spare  that  place  for  the 
sake  of  the  fifty  just,  if  they  be  therein?  Far  be  it 
from  Thee  to  do  this  thing,  and  to  slay  the  just  with 
the  wicked,  and  for  the  just  to  be  in  like  case  with 
the  wicked,  this  is  not  beseeming  Thee  :  Thou  Who 
judgestall  the  earth,  wilt  not  make  this  judgment." 
And  the  Lord  said  to  him:  "  If  I  find  in  Sodom 
fifty  just  within  the  city,  I  will  spare  the  whole 
place  for  their  sake."  And  Abraham  answered  and 
said :  Seeing  I  have  once  begun,  I  will  speak  to  my 
Lord,  whereas  I  am  dust  and  ashes.  What  if  there 
be  five  less  than  fifty  just  persons  ?  Wilt  Thou  for 
five  and  forty  destroy  the  whole  city  ?  And  He 
said  :  I  will  not  destroy  it  if  I  find  £ve  and  forty. 
And  again  he  said  to  Him :  But  if  forty  be  found 
there  what  wilt  Thou  do  ?  He  said  :  I  will  not  de- 
stroy it  for  the  sake  of  forty.  Lord,  saith  he,  be 
not  angry,  I  beseech  Thee,  if  I  speak :  What  if 
thirty  shall  be  found  there  ?  He  answered,  "  I  will 
not  do  it  if  I  find  thirty  there."  "Seeing,"  saith 
he,  "  I  have  once  begun,  I  will  speak  to  my  Lord." 
"  What  if  twenty  be  found  there  ?  He  said  :  I  will 
not   destroy  it  for  the  sake  of  twenty.     I  beseech 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  JUST.  123 

Thee,  saith  lie,  be  not  angry  Lord,  if  I  speak  yet 
once  more  :  What  if  ten  should  be  found  there  ? 
And  he  said,  I  will  not  destroy  it  for  the  sake  of 
ten.*'  (Gen.  xviii.  23-32.)  And  the  Lord  de- 
parted, fearing,  as  it  were,  Abraham  might  ask 
Him  to  spare  the  city  if  but  four,  or  three,  or  even 
one  just  soul  could  be  found  there  ;  for  there  was 
that  number  to  be  found  there,  viz  :  Lot,  his  wife 
and  two  children.  But  in  order  that  they  might 
not  perish  with  the  rest,  God,  through  the  ministry 
of  his  angels,  led  them  out  of  the  city.  But  had 
the  Lord  found  there  but  ten  just  men,  surely  He 
would  have  spared  the  city.  Nay,  at  the  time  of 
Jeremias,  God  declared,  through  his  prophet,  that 
He  would  be  propitious  to  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  if 
but  one  just  man  could  be  found  therein.  "  Go 
about  through  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  and  see,  and 
consider,  and  seek  in  the  broad  places  thereof  if  you 
can  find  a  man  that  executeth  judgment  and  seeketh 
faith,  and  I ivill  be  merciful  unto  it.'  (Chap.  v.  1.) 
God  seeks  men  to  whom  may  be  applied  what  is 
said  of  St.  John  the  Baptist :  "  He  was  great  before 
the  Lord,"  that  is,  great  with  God  by  their  holiness 
of  life,  and  great  by  the  power  of  their  prayer. 

Such  was  St.  Athanasius,  who  for  God  ana1  for 
the  sake  of  religion,  opposed  the  dreadful  heresy  of 
Arins  and  triumphed  over  it.  Such  was  St.  John 
('lirysostom,  St.  Basil,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Ambrose, 
who,  to  the  end  of  their  lives,  fought  the  battles  of 


124  ON   THE   EFFICACY   OF 

the  Lord.  In  what  great  esteem  must  the  just  be 
held,,  though  despicable  and  wretched  exteriorly, 
because,  for  their  sake,  God  spares  whole  cities 
sunk  in  vice  ;  they  are  the  stays  and  pillars  of 
realms.  Such  was  David,  of  whom  God  said  to 
Ezechias  :  I  will  protect  this  city  and  will  save  it 
for  My  own  sake,  and  for  David  My  servant's  sake." 
(IV.  Kings  xix.  34.) 

Such  was  St.  Paul,  to  whom,  when  in  danger  of 
shipwreck,  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  said  :  Cl  Fear  not, 
Paul,  for  thou  must  be  brought  before  Caesar  ;  and 
behold,  God  hath  given  thee  all  that  sail  with  thee." 
(Acts  xxvii.  24.)  Hence  Cornelius  a  Lapide  re- 
marks:  "  God  values  one  just  man  more  than  a 
thousand  sinners,  than  heaven  and  earth  ;"  "  nay," 
says  St.  Alphonsus,  "  God  esteems  one  eminently 
just  man  more  than  a  thousand  ordinary  just  men. 
As  one  sun  imparts  more  light  and  warmth  to  the 
whole  world  than  all  the  stars  united,  in  like  man- 
ner a  holy  man  benefits  the  world  more  than  a 
thousand  ordinary  just  men."  "  Who  will  call 
into  doubt  that  the  world  is  sustained  by  the  prayers 
of  the  Saints,"  says  Huff.  Praefat.  in  vit.  Patr. 

On  this  account,  St.  Gregory  writes  :  "  Oh,  how 
I  arm  grieved  to  the  very  heart,  when  I  see  that  God 
banishes  holy  men  and  women  from  one  country 
into  another,  or  summons  them  to  Himself.  This 
is  to  me  an  evident  sign  that  He  intends  to  punish 
such  a  country,  and  it  will  be,  indeed,  very  easy  for 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  JUST.  125 

Him,  when  there  is  no  one  left  to  stay  His  anger.' ' 
Hence  St.  Augustine  was  right  in  saying:  "The 
prayer  of  the  just  man  is  a  key  to  heaven  ;  let  his 
prayer  ascend  and  God's  mercy  will  descend.'' 
(Serni.  226  de  Tempore.) 

All  the  just  men,  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment, employed  this  key  of  prayer  very  freely  to 
unlock  God's  inexhaustible  treasures,  and  to  obtain 
for  themselves  and  others  whatever  blessing  they 
needed,  whether  temporal  or  spiritual.  With  this 
key  the  prophet  Elias  closed  the  heavens,  and  no 
rain  fell  for  three  years  and  a  half ;  and  with  this 
same  key  he  opened  them  again,  and  again  rain  fell 
in  abundance.  With  this  key  Ezechias  brought 
back  the  shadow  of  the  lines  by  which  it  was  gone 
down  in  the  sun-dial  of  Achaz,  with  the  sun  ten 
lines  backwards.  "  And  the  sun  returned  ten  lines 
by  the  degrees  by  which  it  was  gone  down."  (Isais. 
xxxviii.  8.) 

With  this  key  also,  Josue  arrested  the  sun  in  its 
■••,  to  have  a  longer  day  for  gaining  a  complete 
victor  the  Amorrhites  :   "  Move  not,  0  sun, 

towards  Gabaon,  nor  thou,  0  moon,  towards  the 
valley  of  Ajalon."  (Josue  x.  12.)  What  hap- 
pened? "And  the  sun  and  the  moon  stood  still, 
till   the  people  revenged   themselves  of  their  ene- 

So  the  sun  stood  still  in  the  midst  of  heaven, 
and  i  i  not  to  go  down  the  space  of  one  day. 

was  not  before  nor  after  so  long  a  day,  the. 

11* 


126  ON   THE  EFFICACY   OF 

Lord  obeying  the  voice  of  a  man."  (Verse  13.) 
Thus  Josue  exercises  power  over  the  heavenly  plan- 
ets, suspending  their  revolutions,  as  if  king  thereof, 
and  keeping  them  at  his  beckon. 

With  the  key  of  prayer  Jacob,  the  Nisibite,  keeps 
the  gates  of  Nisibis  closed  against  Sapor,  and  sets 
all  his  schemes  at  naught,  as  Theodore  writes  in 
this  Abbot's  life  ;  Bessarion,  the  Abbot,  turns  sea 
water  into  sweetwater  ;  St.  Raymond  of  Pennafort, 
standing  on  his  mantle,  traverses  the  sea  for  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  ;  the  Monk 
Publius  prevented  Azazel,  Julian  the  Apostate's 
devil  (dispatched  by  this  Impious  emperor  to  bring 
news  from  the  Occident,  as  is  related  in  Vitis.  Pat. 
lib.  6,  tome.  2,  No.  12),  from  proceeding  farther 
west  than  where  he  lived  ;  St.  Hilarion,  Macarius, 
and  other  Saints,  drove  out  the  devil  from  possessed 
persons  ;  Theonas,  the  Abbot,  made  robbers  stand 
immovable  ;  St.  Gregory  Thaumaturgas  moves  a 
mountain  to  obtain  a  site  for  a  church  ;  St.  Francis 
of  Assisium  renders  a  wolf  quite  tame  and  gentle  ; 
St.  Alphonsus  stems  a  lava-torrent  of  Mount  Vesu- 
vius, and  turns  its  destructive  course  from  the  city 
of  Naples  ;  St.  Stanislaus,  the  Martyr,  restores  a 
man  to  life  who  had  died  three  years  before,  and 
presented  him  before  the  court,  to  testify  that  he 
had  bought  a  certain  spot,  as  a  situation  for  his 
church,  from  him,  and  had  paid  him  in  full. 

"  My  dear   Lord,"    says   St.   Coletta,    after   the 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  JUST.  127 

death  of  her  Prior,  "  give  me  back  my  Prior,  for  I 
need  his  aid  still  in  erecting  some  more  monaste- 
ries/' and  our  Lord  is  pleased  to  restore  this  Saint, 
her  Prior,  alive,  and  he  rendered  valuable  services 
during  the  fifteen  years  he  lived  afterwards. 

St.  Francis  de  Paul,  learning  that  his  parents 
were  to  be  executed  for  the  supposed  murder  of  a 
man,  whose  body  had  been  found  in  their  garden, 
says  to  our  Lord:  "  My  God,  let  me  be  with  my 
parents  by  to-morrow."  In  the  same  night  he  was 
carried  by  an  Angel  to  his  parents,  at  a  distance  of 
four  hundred  leagues.  The  next  day  he  commands 
tin-  dead  man,  in  the  presence  of  the  people,  to  de- 
clare whether  the  murder  had  been  justly  laid  to 
the  charge  of  his  parents.  "  No,"  says  he,  u  your 
parents  are  guiltless."  The  Saint  again  says  to  the 
Lord:  u  Lord,  return  me  to  my  convent,"  and  the 
Angel  bore  him  back  again. 

Ah  !  how  powerful  is  the  prayer  of  the  just  !  It 
not  only  exercises  its  power  over  all  kinds  of  crea- 
tures, rational  and  irrational ;  over  those  in  heaven, 
on  earth  and  under  the  earth  ;  it  not  only  disarms 
the  wrath  of  God  against  entire  nations,  lost  to 
the  fear  and  love  of  their  Creator  ;  it  exercises  a 
mightier  sway  ;  it  gives  free  access  to  the  spiritual 
treasures  of  God ;  it  causes  them  to  flow  in  per- 
il streams  upon  sinners,  as  well  as  upon  the 
just,  operating  wonders  in  their  interior.  Sinners, 
from  being  enemies  of  God,  become   His  friends; 


128  ON   THE   EFFICACY   OF 

from  being  reprobates,  they  become  chosen  vessels 
of  election  ;  from  being  children  of  the  devil,  they 
become  children  of  God  ;  from  being  heirs  of  hell, 
they  become  heirs  of  heaven. 

Now,  if  prayer  opens  to  sinners  the  road  to  hea- 
ven, if  it  produces  such  wonderful  effects  in  their 
souls,  how  much  more  wonderful  are  the  transfor- 
mations which  it  brings  about  in  the  souls  of  the 
just  ?  To  give  a  full  and  accurate  description  of 
them  is  utterly  impossible  ;  no  human  eye  ever  saw 
them,  nor  did  any  human  understanding  ever  fully 
comprehend  them.  Could  they  be  seen  or  under- 
stood, the  whole  world  would  covet  them,  and  re- 
gard all  else  as  vanity  and  unworthy  of  man's  am- 
bition. 

Now  let  me  enumerate  some  of  these  wonderful 
effects.  Innumerable  are  the  evil  tendencies  from 
which  the  sacred  waters  of  baptism  could  not  free 
the  soul ;  then,  the  slight  blemishes  which  tarnish 
the  soul,  even  after  the  remission  of  grievous  sins 
in  the  sacrament  of  penance,  such  as  temporal  pun- 
ishments due  to  every  actual  sin,  a  certain  lassitude, 
inconstancy  and  discouragement  in  combatting  the 
temptations  of  the  devil,  the  world  and  the  flesh  ;  a 
certain  proneness  and  affection  for  the  vanities  of 
life,  a  sovereign  horror  for  suffering,  contempt  and 
the  like.  Prayer  removes  these  blemishes,  according 
to  what  St.  John  Chrysostom  tells  us.  "Although 
we  may  be  filled  with  sins,  yet,  if  we  continue  to 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  JUST  129 

pray,  we  shall  soon  be  quite  free  of  them  ;"  that  is 
to  say,  not  only  free  of  sins  themselves,  but  also  of 
temporal  punishments  due  to  them;  "for,"  con- 
tinues the  Saint,  "  no  sooner  had  the  leper  prostrated 
himself  at  the  feet  of  our  Lord,  than  he  felt  com- 
pletely cleansed  of  his  leprosy." 

In  prayer  God  enlightens  the  soul  the  better  to 
know  and  understand  the  enormity  and  heinousness 
of  sin  and  its  ingratitude  towards  God.  If,  in  the 
first  instant  of  conversion,  its  sorrow  proceeded 
from  the  imperfect  motives  of  having  lost  heaven 
and  deserved  hell,  it  now  commences  to  repent  more 
from  the  perfect  motive  of  the  love  of  God,  Whom, 
instead  of  offending,  it  should  have  endeavored  to 
love  above  all  things.  It  sometimes  weeps  over  its 
offenses  offered  to  God,  and  sheds  tears  of  grati- 
tude towards  Him,  Who,  instead  of  punishing  it  in 
hell,  gives  it  still  time  for  tears  and  penance  ;  its 
will  soon  conceives  such  a  hatred  of  sin,  that  the 
very  name  of  this  evil  will  inspire  it  with  horror. 
",  the  soul's  generous  resolve  rather  to  undergo 
loss,  even  that  of  life  itself,  than  to  commit 
again  the  least  fault ;  it  will  become  penetrated  with 
the  spirit  of  penance,  ready  to  accept  every  trial  and 
cross  as  a  satisfaction  for  its  sins,  an  effect  of  the 
love  of  God  increasing  in  it  in  proportion  to  its  per- 
severance and  fervor  in  prayer.  "  The  love  of 
God,"  says  St.  Ambrose,  "  having  once  entered 
into  a   soul,  is  like  a   fire,  destroying  everything 


130  ON   THE   EFFICACY    OF 

that  comes  within  its  reach  ;  the  love  of  God,  in  like 
manner,  effaces  every  spot  and  stain  of  sin  in  the 
soul."  Witness  the  good  thief  on  the  cross,  who 
heard  these  consoling  words  from  the  lips  of  our 
Lord,  as  a  response  to  his  earnest  petition,  "  To- 
day thou  shalt  he  with  Me  in  Paradise."  More- 
over, prayer  inspires  the  soul  with  courage  to  com- 
bat all  her  enemies,  and  patiently  to  endure  every 
cross  and  trial.  She  was  weak,  now  she  is  strong  ; 
she  was  indolent  and  slothful,  now  she  is  assiduous 
and  watchful ;  from  being  perplexed,  she  becomes  en- 
lightened ;  from  being  melancholy  and  cast  down, 
she  becomes  joyful ;  from  being  effeminate,  she  be- 
comes manful.  From  the  tower  of  prayer  Esther 
comes  forth  courageous  to  brave  the  orders  of  As- 
suerus ;  Judith  faces  Holofernes  ;  a  small  number 
of  the  Machabees  set  their  numerous  enemies  at  de- 
fiance. Fortified  by  prayer,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
went  to  meet  His  enemies,  who  were  to  crucify  Him. 
In  prayer  the  soul  is  raised  above  itself,  to  its  God 
in  heaven,  where  it  learns,  nay,  even  sees  the  vanity 
of  all  earthly  things,  despising  them  as  mere  trifles. 
There  it  learns  that  only  in  heaven  true  riches, 
honors  and  pleasures  are  to  be  found.  "  If  we  give 
ourselves  up  to  prayer,"  says  St.  John  Chrysostom, 
"  we  shall  soon  cease  to  be  mortals,  not.  indeed,  by 
nature,  but  by  our  manner  of  thinking,  speaking, 
and  acting,  which  will  be  divine,  having,  as  it  were, 
already  passed  to  eternal  life  ;  for  those  who  enter 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  JUST.  131 

into  familiarity  with  God,  must  necessarily  be  raised 
above  everything  transitory  and  perishable."  And 
again  :  "  How  great  a  dignity  is  it  not,  to  be  allowed 
to  converse  with  God  ?  By  prayer  we  are  united  to 
the  angelic  choirs,  who,  lost  in  the  contemplation  of 
God,  teach  us  how  to  forget  ourselves  whilst  at 
prayer,  so  that,  being  penetrated  with  seraphic  hap- 
piness and  reverential  awe  at  the  same  time,  we 
may  be  lost  to  everything  earthly,  believing  our- 
selves standing  in  the  midst  of  the  Angels,  and 
offering  with  them  the  same  sacrifice.  How  great 
is  the  wisdom,  how  great  the  piety,  how  great  the 
holiness,  how  great  the  temperance,  with  which 
prayer  fills  us  !  Hence,  it  is  not  the  slightest  de- 
viation from  truth  to  maintain  that  prayer  is  the 
source  of  all  virtues,  so  much  so  that  nothing  tend- 
ing to  nourish  piety  can  enter  the  soul  without  its 
practice.     (Lib.  2,  de  orando.) 

In  prayer  the  soul  becomes  aware  how  all  the 
crosses  and  sufferings  of  this  world,  poverty,  sickness, 
hunger  and  thirst,  privations  of  all  kinds,  persecu- 
tions, contempt,  mockeries,  insults,  and  whatever 
may  be  repugnant  to  human  nature  and  abhorred  by 
it,  is  to  be  made  light  of,  and,  according  to  St. 
Paul,  "  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the 
glory  to  come,  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us,"  (Rom. 
viii.,  18,)  exclaiming  with  St.  Andrew,  the  Apostle, 
"  O,  thou  good  cross,  which  hast  received  thy  splen- 
dor  from  the  members  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  which  I 


132  ON   THE   EFFICACY   OF 

have  been  sighing  so  long,  which  I  have  always 
loved  so  ardently,  and  which  finally  has  been  pre- 
pared for  me,  0,  come  and  restore  me  to  my  Master, 
in  order  that  I  may  be  received  by  Him  through 
thee,  by  which  He  was  pleased  to  redeem  me." 

Hence  we  read  that  the  first  Christians  and  many 
martyrs  would  suffer  with  joy  the  loss  of  all  their 
temporal  goods,  even  life  itself.  I  cannot  refrain 
from  relating  here  what  one  of  our  Fathers  told  me 
of  a  priest  of  eighty  years  old,  with  whom  he  had 
one  day  the  happiness  to  dine.  Whilst  sitting  at 
table  he  noticed  protuberances  of  flesh  on  each  side 
of  the  aged  Father's  hands.  Not  knowing  how  to 
account  for  them,  he  asked  for  an  explanation. 
The  venerable  old  priest  told  him  that  when  the 
slaughter  of  priests  was  going  on  by  wholesale, 
during  the  French  revolution,  he  tried  to  escape 
death  by  hiding  himself  in  a  rack  of  hay.  An 
officer,  probing  the  rack  with  his  sword,  pierced  the 
hay  and  his  hands  at  the  same  time,  which  were 
lying  crosswise,  thus  discovering  him  and  taking 
him  to  prison,  to  be  executed  on  the  next  day. 
"Never  in  my  life,"  said  he,  "did  I  experience 
such  agony,  such  deadly  fear  ;  never  did  I  under- 
stand more  clearly  what  our  dear  Lord  suffered  in 
the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  than  I  did  at  that  time. 
According  to  the  example  of  my  Divine  Kedeemer, 
I  commenced  to  pray,  and  prayed  until  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning.    Suddenly  I  felt  so  great  a  comfort, 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  JUST.  133 

consolation  and  courage  that  I  even  sighed  after  the 
hour  of  my  execution.  Would  to  God  they  came,  I 
exclaimed  with  a  sigh.  Would  to  God  they  came  ! 
At  last  the  door  of  the  prison  is  thrown  open.  There 
they  are,  Lsaid  ;  thanks  he  to  God,  now  I  am  going 
to  die  for  Jesus  Christ.  But,  alas  !  my  exceedingly 
great  joy  is,  in  an  instant,  changed  into  an  excess 
of  grief.  I  was  told  that  I  was  not  to  be  executed, 
but  set  at  liberty. "  Thus,  prayer  changed  this 
priest's  sadness  into  joy,  his  cowardice  into  intre- 
pidity, his  horror  of  torture  into  a  longing  desire 
for  the  most  exquisite  torments. 

Prayer,  moreover,  unites  the  soul  to  God  in  an 

indescribably  wonderful   manner.      This   union   is 

much  stronger,  more  solid,  more  intimate  than  the 

best  kind  of  cement  is  capable  of  producing  between 

two  stones.     Physical  force  can  separate  the  latter  ; 

the  former  is  incapable  of  dissolution  by  any  natural 

power  whatever.     As  fire  seems  to  change  iron  into 

fire,  the  sun  to  change  the  air  into  light,  in  like 

manner  the  soul  becomes  penetrated  with  God  in 

prayer.     "  But  he  who  is  joined  to  the  Lord,"  says 

'ml,  "  is  one  spirit."     (1  Cor.  vi.,  17.)     To  be 

D  up  to  prayer,  and  to  be  joined  to  God,  is  one 

and  the  same  thing — the  soul  becoming  with  God 

one  spirit,  one  will.     "For,"  says  St.  John  Chry- 

808tom,  "if  he  who   converses  frequently  with  a 

i  and  conspicuous  personage  must  necessarily 

draw  from  this  intercourse  the  greatest  advantages, 

12 


134  ON   THE   EFFICACY   OF 

how  much  more  abundant  must  be  the  blessings 
flowing  from  the  constant  communion  with  God  ! 
As  one  who  frequently  enjoys  the  company  of  a 
wise,  prudent  and  learned  man,  whom  he  truly 
loves  and  esteems,  will,  by  degrees,  adopt  his  man- 
ners and  his  way  of  speaking,  judging  and  acting} 
so  a  soul  which  converses  often  and  long  with  God 
in  prayer,  will  gradually  receive  more  and  more  of 
the  divine  attributes,  exchanging,  so  to  speak,  her 
own  will  for  that  of  God.  St.  Bernard  expresses 
himself  most  beautifully  and  just  to  the  point  when 
he  says  :  "  Such  a  one  not  only  wishes  what  God 
wishes,  nay,  the  disposition  of  his  will  is  such  that 
it  cannot  wish  except  what  God  wishes  ;  but  to  wish 
what  God  wishes  is  already  to  be  like  unto  God  ; 
now  not  to  be  able  to  will  anything  save  what  God 
wills,  is  to  be  what  God  is,  with  "Whom  to  will  and 
to  be  is  but  one  and  the  same.  Hence  it  is  said  with 
truth  that  we  shall  see  Him  then  such  as  He  is. 
Now,  if  we  have  thus  become  like  unto  Him,  we 
shall  be  what  He  Himself  is  ;  for  to  whomsoever 
power  is  given  to  become  the  children  of  God,  power 
is  also  given,  not,  indeed,  to  be  God  themselves,  but 
to  be  what  God  is."  (St.  Bern,  or  Auct.  tract  de 
vita  solitar,  towards  the  end.) 

Hence,  St.  Francis  of  Assisium,  when  at  prayer, 
was  oftentimes  wrapped  in  ecstacy,  and,  regardless 
of  earth  and  the  love  of  created  things,  he  would 
exclaim,  in  a  transport  of  delight :   "  My  God  and 


Till;    PRAYER    OF    TUB   JUST.  135 

my  all  !  My  God  and  my  all !  Let  me  die  for  the 
love  of  Thee  Who  hast  died  for  the  love  of  me!" 

Hence  that  brilliant  light  ever  beaming  on  the 
countenances  of  holy  men  when  returning  from  fer- 
vent prayer  and  familiar  intercourse  with  God. 
"  And   when  Moses  came  down  from  Mount  Sinai 

he  knew  not  that  his  face  was  horned 

from  the  conversation  of  the  Lord."  (Exodus 
xxxiv.,  29.) 

Those  who  are  devoted  to  prayer  and  frequent 
conversation'  with  God  become  like  Moses,  whose 
brow  was  resplendent  with  a  supernatural  light. 
This  brilliancy  is  first  visible  on  their  countenance, 
and  then  extends  to  the  whole  body.  Thus  Jesus 
Christ  was  transfigured  in  prayer,  and  His  face  did 
shine  as  the  sun,  so  much  so  that  this  light  not 
only  reflected  upon  Moses  and  Elias,  but  also  upon 
St.  Peter,  St.  James  and  St.  John,  in  which  light 
St.  Peter,  inebriated  with  joy,  exclaims  :  "  Lord,  it 
is  good  for  us  to  be  here  ;  if  Thou  wilt  let  us  make 
here  three  tabernacles,  one  for  Thee,  and  one  for 
Moses,  and  one  for  Elias." 

Thus  the  face  of  St.  Anthony,  who  often  spent 
whole  nights  in  prayer,  would  be  resplendent  to 
such  a  degree  that  by  the  splendor,  radiance,  and 
joy  on  his  countenance,  he  could  be  recognized  at 
once  among  many  thousands  of  his  brethren,  not 
unlike  a  sun  among  many  stars  ;  thus,  too,  St. 
Francis  of  Assisium  would  shine,  whilst  elevated  in 


136  ON   THE   EFFICACY   OF 

spirit  to  heaven  in  the  act  of  fervent  prayer,  so 
much  so  that  he  seemed  to  send  forth  fiery  flames. 
In  the  Breviary,  we  read  of  St.  Stanislaus  Koska 
that  his  face  was  always  inflamed,  nay,  sometimes 
even  heaming  with  divine  light. 

Thus,  also,  the  countenance  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary  shone  constantly,  and  in  an  especial  manner, 
with  heavenly  light,  on  account  of  her  perpetual 
union  with  God  and  the  Incarnate  Word,  and  such 
was  its  dazzling  splendor  that,  according  to  the  tes- 
timony of  St.  Dionysius,  the  Areopagite,  she  seemed 
to  be  a  goddess. 

Now,  these  beams  radiated  in  the  shape  of  horns 
to  signify  that  the  Saints  were  not  only  enlightened 
in  prayer,  but  became  also  cornuti-horned,  i.  e., 
constant,  firm,  strong,  intrepid,  and  capable  of 
undergoing  every  suffering,  and  of  enduring  all 
kinds  of  hardships. 

Thus  Anna,  the  mother  of  Samuel,  felt  great 
strength  and  courage  after  her  prayer,  according  to 
what  is  related  of  her  :  (I  Kings,  i.  18.)  "And 
her  countenance  was  no  more  changed."  that  is, 
from  that  very  moment  she  received,  with  an  even 
and  constant  mind,  both  the  praises  of  Helcana  and 
the  contempt  and  mockery  of  Phenanna,  consola- 
tions and  prosperity  as  well  as  desolations  and 
adversities. 

Finally,  prayer  introduces  the  soul  into  that 
happy  country  of  the  interior  life,  a  country  over- 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  JUST.  137 

flowing  with  milk  and  honey.  Here  the  soul  learns 
more  of  God  in  one  moment  than  by  reading  all  the 
books  ever  written  ;  God  speaks  to  the  soul  and  the 
soul  to  God  in  an  inexplicable  manner,  enkindling 
her  with  that  strong,  ardent  and  seraphic  love  for 
Himself  which  made  St.  Paul  exclaim :  cc  Who, 
then,  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ? 
shall  tribulations  ?  or  distress  ?  or  famine  ?  or 
nakedness  ?  or  danger  ?  or  persecution  ?  or  the 
sword  ?  as  it  is  written,  For  Thy  sake  we  are  put 
to  death  all  the  day  long.  We  are  accounted  as 
sheep  for  the. slaughter."  (Rom.  viii.  35.)  "  Even 
unto  this  hour  we  both  hunger  and  thirst,  and  are 
naked,  and  are  buffeted,  and  have  no  fixed  abode. 
We  are  reviled,  ....  We  are  persecuted, 
.  we  are  blasphemed  ;  we  are  made  as 
the  refuse  of  this  world,  the  offscouring  of  all  even 
until  now."  (Corinth,  iv.  11 — 13.)  "  Our  flesh 
had  no  rest,  but  we  suffered  all  tribulation  ;  com- 
bats without ;  fears  within  ;"  (II  Corinth,  vii.  5,) 
'in  many  labors,  in  prisons  more  frequently,  in 
stripes  above  measure,  in  deaths  often.  Of  the 
Jews  five  times  did  I  receive  forty  stripes,  save  one. 
Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once  I  was  stoned, 
thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck  ;  a  night  and  a  day  I  was 
in  the  depths  of  the  sea.  In  journeying  often  in 
perils  of  water,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  from 
my  own  nation,  in  perils  from  the  gentiles,  in  perils 
in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in 
12* 


138  ON   THE   EFFICACY   OF 

the  sea,  in  perils  from  false  brethren,  in  labor 
and  painfulness,  in  much  watchings,  in  hunger  and 
thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and  in  nakedness." 
(II  Cor.  xi.  23-28.)  "  We  glory  in  tribulations." 
(Kom.  v.  3;)  "  I  am  filled  with  comfort ;  I  exceed- 
ingly bound  with  joy  in  all  our  tribulations."  (II 
Cor.  vii.  4.)  "  In  all  these  things  we  overcome,  be- 
cause of  Him  that  hath  loved  us.  For  I  am  sure 
that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  Angels,  nor  princi- 
palities, nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things 
to  come,  nor  might,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any 
other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the 
love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 
(Rom.  viii.  37—39.) 

What  is  there  still  that  cannot  be  obtained 
through  prayer.  "  All  things  whatsoever  you  shall 
ask  in  prayer,  believing,  you  shall  receive."  (Matt, 
xxi.  22.)  Now,  he  who  says  all  things,  excepts 
nothing.  Nay,  God  is  so  good,  so  liberal,  says 
Origen,  (horn.  9,  in  Numer.)  that  He  gives  more 
than  He  is  asked  for.  The  Holy  Church,  too,  ex- 
presses this  when  she  prays  :  "  Oh,  God,  Who,  in 
the  abundance  of  Thy  kindness,  exceedest  both  the 
merits  and  wishes  of  Thy  suppliants,  pour  forth  upon 
us  Thy  mercy  that  Thou  mayst  free  us  from  those 
things  which  burden  our  conscience,  and  mayst 
grant  us  what  we  dare  not  ask." 

Let  us  add  a  word  in  conclusion  :  He  who  under- 
stands how  to  pray  well  becomes,  as  it  were,  the 


THE  PRAYER  OF  THE  JUST.  139 

lord  of  the  Lord,  and  the  ruler  of  the  universe.  He 
is  another  Jacob,  who,  having  overcome  the  Lord  in 
wrestling,  (in  prayer)  was  called  Israel,  i.  e.,  the 
conqueror  of  God.  _  By  praying  to  God  he  becomes 
Israel,  "  the  victor  of  God."  Hence  Cornelius  a 
Lapide  remarks  :  "  If  you  can  reason  with  God  ef- 
fectually in  prayer,  your  enemies  will,  at  once, 
become  your  friends  or  your  subjects,  God  so  chang- 
ing them." 

This  secret  of  conquering,  and  this  manner  of 
obtaining  whatever  they  wished,  has  always  been 
known  and  adopted  up  to  the  present  day  by  holy 
souls,  who  enjoy  the  intimate  friendship  of  God, 
through  Whom  they  do  wondrous  things.  "I  can 
do,"  says  St.  Paul,  "all  things  in  Him  Who 
strengthens  me,"  for  the  hearts  even  of  the  most 
ferocious  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord  Who  changes 
them  at  His  good  pleasure.  "If  thou  'hast  been 
strong  against  God,  how  much  more  shalt  thou 
prevail  against  men."  (Gen.  xxxii.  28.)  Indeed, 
whomsoever  the  Creator  Himself  obeys,  the  Angels, 
the  demons,  men,  and  all  creatures,  are  bound  to 
obey. 


140  ON   THE  CONDITIONS   AND 


CHAPTEE    VI. 

ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND   QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER. 

PLUTARCH  relates  that,  in  his  time,  the  Ro- 
mans sent  a  delegation  of  three  men  to  Bithy- 
nia,  in  order  to  restore  peace  between  a  father  and 
his  son.  One  of  the  delegates  had  his  head  cov- 
ered with  ulcers  ;  the  other  suffered  from  gout,  and 
the  third  from  heart  disease.  When  Cato,  the 
Roman  Censor,  saw  them,  he  exclaimed:  "  This 
Roman  delegation  has  neither  head,  nor  foot,  nor 
heart.' '  I  fear,  dear  reader,  that  we  often  send 
similar  worthless  delegations  to  God.  Our  dele- 
gate to  Him  is  prayer,  of  which  David  has  said  : 
{l  Let  my  prayer  come  before  Thee  ;"  (Ps.  lxxxvii. 
3)  on  which  words  St.  Augustine  comments  thus  : 
11  0  wonderful  power  of  prayer,  which  has  access  to 
God,  whilst  the  flesh  is  refused  admittance/ '  Now, 
in  order  that  our  delegate  may  please  God  and 
prove  as  useful  and  powerful  to  us  as  it  has  to  the 
Saints,  it  must  have  certain  conditions  and  quali- 
ties ;  above  all, 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  141 


I. — The  Object  of  our  Prayer  must  be  Lawful. 

"Were  we  to  pray  for  anything  which  it  is  unlaw- 
ful for  us  to  desire,  our  request  would  be  rash  or 
indiscreet,  as  for  instance  : 

1.  If  we  petition  for  what  might  be  detrimental 
to  our  salvation.  "  A  man/'  says  St.  Augustine, 
"  may  lawfully  pray  for  the  necessities  of  this  life, 
and  the  Lord  may  mercifully  refuse  to  hear  him. 
As  a  physician,  who  desires  the  restoration  of 
his  patient,  will  not  allow  him  those  things  which 
he  knows  will  be  hurtful  to  him — or  as  a  mother 
ought  not  to  give  a  knife  to  her  little  child,  al- 
though he  should  ask  for  it,  so,  in  like  manner, 
our  Lord  will  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  our  prayers  when 
-k  for  such  things  as  He  knows  it  would  be 
inexpedient  to  grant.  Hence,  sometimes  a  person's 
prayer  fur  temporal  favors  is  refused,  because  God 
foresees  the  injury  they  would  do  that  person.  For 
this  reason  St.  Philip  Neri  would  pray  only  condi- 
tionally for  sick  persons,  because  several  of  those, 
who  had  recovered  their  health  by  his  prayers,  had 
relapsed  into  their  former  excesses,  and  led  very 
licentious  lives.  It  is,  however,  not  forbidden  to 
pray  for  the  necessaries  of  life,  as  Solomon  did  : 
"  Give  me  only  the  necessaries  of  life  ;"  (Prov.  xxx. 
8.)  nor  is  it  wrong  to  be  solicitous  about  such 
things,  provided  our  anxiety  with  regard  to  them 


142  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

be  not  inordinate,  and  we  do  not  set  our  hearts 
upon  them  so  absolutely  as  to  make  them  the  chief 
objects  of  our  desires.  We  must  always  ask  for 
them  with  resignation,  and  with  the  condition  that 
they  be  of  advantage  to  our  souls.  We  read  in 
the  Life  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury,  that  a  sick 
man,  who  had  recovered  his  health  through  the 
Saint's  intercession,  reflecting  afterwards  that  sick- 
ness might  have  been  better  for  him  than  health, 
he  prayed  again  to  the  holy  Bishop,  saying,  that 
he  would  prefer  being  sick,  if  health  was  not  desi- 
rable for  him,  and  immediately  his  sickness  re- 
turned. 

2.  If  we  pray  to  be  delivered  from  a  particular 
temptation,  or  cross,  (as  St.  Paul  prayed  for  deliver- 
ance from  the  temptations  of  the  flesh)  which  God 
knows  to  be  useful  to  our  advancement  in  humility 
and  other  virtues. 

3.  If  we  ask  for  something  from  motives  of  am- 
bition, like  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  who  prayed  to  ob- 
tain the  principal  offices  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

4.  If  we  ask  for  something  from  indiscreet  zeal, 
like  the  Apostles  when  they  asked  our  Lord  to  send 
down  fire  from  heaven  upon  the  Samaritans,  be- 
cause they  rejected  Christ  our  Lord. 

5.  If  we  ask  for  something,  the  granting  of 
which  God  delays  for  some  time  for  our  profit,  in 
order  to  increase  our  zeal  and  fervor  in  prayer,  and 
enable  us  to  merit  the  virtue  of  perseverance.     One 


QUALITIES   OF    PRAYER.  143 

day  St.  Gertrude  complained  to  our  Lord  because 
she  had  not  obtained  from  Him  a  certain  favor  for 
her  relatives,  notwithstanding  His  promise  to  her 
to  hear  all  her  prayers.  Our  Lord  answered  her 
that  He  had  heard  her  prayer,  but  would  grant  the 
favor  asked  at  some  future  period  when  it  would  be 
more  useful  to  her  relatives. 

6.  And  especially  if  we  were  to  ask  of  God  a  cer- 
tain particular  state  of  life,  as  the  sacerdotal,  reli- 
gious, or  matrimonial,  and  He  in  His  Omniscience 
knowing  that  we  would  be  more  easily  saved  or  ob- 
tain more  merit  in  a  different  state  better  suited  to 
our  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  constitution. 
The  appropriate  prayer  in  such  a  case  is  daily  to 
beseech  the  Almighty  to  direct  us  by  such  means 
and  ways  as  will  secure  us  from  sin,  make  us  more 
holy,  and  lead  us  to  life  everlasting,  saying  :  u  Lord 
what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do."  "  My  heart  is 
ready,  0  God,  my  heart  is  ready."  "Show,  0 
Lord,  Thy  ways  to  me,  and  teach  me  Thy  paths." 
(Ps.  xxiv.  4.)  "  As  we  know  not,  0  Lord,  what  to 
do,  we  can  only  turn  our  eyes  to  Thee."  (II  Paral. 
xx.  12.)  "  Guide  me,  0  Lord,  by  those  ways,  offi- 
ces, actions,  exercises  and  sufferings,  which  Thou 
knowest  will  lead  me  most  safely  to  Paradise  ;  and 
to  greater  glory  in  Thy  heavenly  kingdom."  Many 
persons  are  accustomed  also  to  pray  thus :  "  Grant, 
0  Lord,  what  Jesus  Christ,  my  Redeemer  Himself, 
wishes  to  see  in  me  :  and  what  He  wills  should  be 


144  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

given  to  me  ;  and  what,  when  dying  on  the  cross,  He 
asked  for  me."  Or  :  Grant  me,  0  Lord,  what  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary  wishes  me,  and  what  she  her- 
self asks  for  me,  for  she  loves  me  and  wishes  to  see 
me  saved,  and  knows  best  what  I  need  to  obtain 
eternal  happiness.  This  is  a  very  pious  and  most 
efficacious  manner  of  praying. 

7.  If  our  prayers  are  said,  as  it  were,  at  random, 
without  asking  any  particular  grace,  they  are  also 
more  or  less  defective,  indiscreet,  and  inefficacious. 
"You  know  not  what  you  ask;"  (Mark  x.  38.) 
said  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  the  sons  of  Zebedee 
when  they  asked  of  Him  that  they  might  sit,  one 
on  His  right  hand  and  the  other  on  His  left  hand, 
in  His  glory.  Alas,  how  many  Christians  there 
are  to  whom  our  Lord  could  address  the  same  words, 
you  do  not  know  what  you  ask  of  God.  How  many 
are  there  who,  if  they  were  asked  on  their  way  to 
church,  or  during  their  stay  therein,  or  on  their  re- 
turn, what  they  want  or  sought  to  obtain  in  their 
prayers,  would  be  at  a  loss  for  an  answer  ;  not 
knowing  what  they  need  nor  what  to  ask  for.  It  is 
self-deception  to  go  to  the  Altar  and  pray  and  con- 
verse with  God,  asking  something  at  random.  Like 
a  person  who  is  sick  and  goes  to  a  druggist  to  buy 
medicine  without  reflecting  whether  or  not  it  will 
suit  his  particular  disease.  Such  a  manner  of  pray- 
ing is  certainly  injudicious,  because  it  is  not  adapted 
to  the  spiritual  wants  of  our  souls.     Hence,  we  must 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  145 

see  that  our  prayers  be  so  constituted  as  to  corres- 
pond to  our  particular  necessities.  "When  at 
prayer,"  says  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  "let  us  be  like 
a  strong,  robust,  and  sensible  man,  who,  when  sit- 
ting at  table  takes  such  food  as  will  give  him  bodily 
strength,  and  not  like  children  who  grasp  at  sweet 
things,  such  as  sugar,  cakes,  pears,  apples  and  the 
like."  Prayer  is  called  the  food  of  the  soul,  but  it 
is  so  only  when  we  pray  according  to  its  spiritual 
wants. 

8.  If  we  pray  in  too  general  a  manner,  for  ex- 
ample, should  a  person  from  certain  circumstances 
in  life,  either  from  necessity  or  otherwise,  be  thrown 
into  the  society  of  another  of  a  quarrelsome,  irrita- 
ble, dissatisfied  disposition,  he  would  naturally  de- 
sire not  to  lose  patience  or  become  angry,  or  use 
uncharitable  words  or  reproaches.  Should  he  pray 
thus  to  God:  "Lord,  give  me  patience,  make  me 
humble  and  charitable ;"  this  prayer  might  be 
considered  rather  too  general  and  indefinite.  It 
would  be  better  to  say  :  "  Lord,  make  me  patient 
and  charitable  towards  this  person,  give  me  also 
the  grace  to  have  immediate  recourse  to  Thee,  when- 
ever ill  feelings  commence  to  arise  in  my  heart,  at 
that  very  moment  make  me  pray  that  I  may  have 
strength  to  resist  them  for  the  love  of  Thee."  It 
is  not  here  intended  to  convey  the  idea  that  to  pray 
in  a  general  manner  l<>r  our  wants  is  not  good,  but 
-»nlv  that  it  is  better  to  pray  according  to  the  par- 
ticular circumstances  of  our  wants. 
13 


146  ON   THE  .CONDITIONS   AND 

9.  There  is  yet  another  mode  of  praying  in  use 
with  many  persons  not  very  profitable  to  the  soul, 
and  is,  therefore,,  more  or  less  inexpedient ;  it  is  to 
pray  by  way  of  affections,  for  instance,  "  0,  excess 
of  love  !  One  heart  is  too  little  to  love  Thee,  my 
Jesus ;  one  tongue  is  not  enough  to  praise  Thy 
goodness.  0,  my  Jesus,  how  great  are  my  obliga- 
gations  to  Thee  !  No,  I  will  no  longer  live  in  my- 
self, but  that  Jesus  alone  should  live  in  me,  He  is 
mine  and  I  am  His.  0  love  !  0  love  !  No  more 
sins !  I  will  never  forget  the  goodness  of  God  and 
the  mercies  of  my  Saviour.  I  love  Thee,  0  Infi- 
nite Majesty  ;  my  God,  I  wish  to  love  nothing  but 
Thee,"  &c. 

Expressions  like  these  are  called  devout  affec- 
tions of  the  heart  ;  but,  as  they  do  not  contain  the 
least  petition  for  any  particular  grace,  the  soul 
will  not  become  over  rich  with  the  gifts  of  God  if 
this  manner  of  praying  be  adopted.  If  a  beggar 
were  to  say  to  a  millionaire  :  "  Oh,  how  magnifi- 
cent is  your  house  ;  how  splendid  your  furniture  : 
how  elegant  your  grounds  ;  how  vast  your  wealth, 
it  would  hardly  excite  the  rich  man  to  almsgiv- 
ing." But  should  he  say  :  "  My  good  sir,  be  kind 
enough  to  assist  me  in  my  poverty  ;  please  give  me 
some  money,  some  clothes,  some  provisions,"  &c, 
then  the  man  of  wealth,  if  charitably  disposed, 
would  hardly  fail  to  give  him  what  he  asked  for. 
In  like  manner  our  Lord  is  not  bound  to  bestow 


QUALITIES   OF   RRAYER.  147 

graces  upon  us  because  we  admire  His  perfections, 
goodness  or  other  attributes.  But  if  we  say  to 
Him:  "Lord,  give  me  to  understand  better  the 
excess  of  Thy  love ;  grant  that  my  heart  may 
never  love  anything  but  Thee,  that  it  may  ever  be 
Thine  ;  make  me  always  seek  only  Thee  ;  let  every- 
thing else  be  distasteful  to  me,"  &c,  expressions 
like  these  being  petitions  or  prayers,  in  which  we 
ask  for  particular  graces,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  on 
account  of  His  promise,  feels  bound  to  grant  them. 
Although  devout  affections  are  good,  and  often 
quite  natural  to  the  soul,  yet,  generally  speaking, 
petitions  are  better,  far  more  profitable,  and  more 
conformable  to  the  examples  taught  us  by  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Holy  Church  in  her  authorized 
devotions,  and  all  the  Saints.  Read  the  prayer  of 
our  Lord  for  His  disciples  in  the  Gospel  of  St. 
John  (chap.  17),  or  any  prayer  of  the  Church,  or 
of  any  Saint,  and  the  truth  of  this  can  be  seen. 
Refer  to  a  prayer  of  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori,  justly 
termed  the  Apostle  of  Prayer,  to  our  Lord  in  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  commencing  :  "  Oh,  my  Jesus, 
Thou  Who  art  the  true  life,  make  me  die  to  the 
world  to  live  only  to  Thee;  my  Redeemer,  by  the 
flames  of  Thy  love  destroy  all  in  me  that  is  dis- 
pleasing to  Thee,  and  give  me  a  true  desire  to 
gratify  and  please  Thee  in  all  things,"  &c. 

The  Ven.  Paul  Segneri  used  to  say  that,  at  one 
time,   he   used   to   employ  the   time  of  prayer  in 


148  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

reflections  and  affections,  e<  but  God  (these  are 
his  own  words),  afterwards  opened  my  eyes,  and 
thenceforward  I  endeavored  to  occupy  my  time  with 
petitions  ;  and  if  there  is  any  good  in  me,  I  as- 
cribe it  to  this  exercise  of  recommending  myself  to 
God."  Let  us  likewise  do  the  same.  And  it  may 
not  be  out  of  place  to  suggest  that,  in  the  selection 
of  a  Prayer-Book,  one  in  which  the  prayers  are  in 
the  form  of  petitions,  is  the  most  profitable. 

Certain  persons  having  heard  or  read,  in  the 
lives  of  St.  Teresa  and  other  Saints,  of  the  grades 
of  supernatural  prayer,  namely,  the  prayer  of 
quiet,  of  sleep,  or  suspension  of  the  faculties,  of 
union_,  of  ecstacy  or  rapture,  of  flight  and  impetus 
of  the  spirit,  and  of  the  wound  of  love,  may  feel 
anxious  to  possess,  and  even  pray  fervently  for 
these  supernatural  gifts.  The  learned  and  pious 
Palafox,  Bishop  of  Osma,  in  a  note  on  the  18th 
letter  of  St.  Teresa,  says  :  ' c  Observe  that  these 
supernatural  graces  which  God  deigned  to  bestow 
on  St.  Teresa,  and  other  Saints,  are  not  necessary 
for  the  attainment  of  sanctity,  since,  without  them, 
many  have  arrived  at  a  high  degree  of  perfection, 
and  obtained  eternal  life,  while  many  who  enjoyed 
them  wrere  afterwards  damned. ' '  He  says  that  * '  the 
practice  of  the  Gospel  virtues,  and  particularly  of  the 
love  of  God,  being  the  true  and  only  way  to  sanctify 
our  souls,  it  is  superfluous,  and  even  presumptuous, 
to  desire  and  seek  such  extraordinary  gifts."    These 


QUALITIES   OF  PRAYEB.  149 

virtues  are  acquired  by  prayer,  and  by  correspond- 
ing with  the  lights  and  helps  of  God,  Who  ardently 
desires  our  sanctification  :  "  For  this  is  the  will  of 
God,  your  sanctification."     (Thess.  iv.  3.) 

Speaking  of  the  degrees  of  supernatur.il  prayer 
described  by  St.  Teresa,  the  holy  Bishop  wisely 
observes  that,  "as  to  the  prayer  of  quiet,  we  should 
only  desire  and  beg  of  God  to  free  us  from  all 
attachment  and  afTection  to  worldly  goods,  which, 
instead  of  giving  peace  to  the  soul,  fill  it  with 
inquietude  and  affliction.  Solomon  justly  called 
them  "  vanity  of  vanities,  and  vexation  of  spirit." 
(Eccl.  i.  14.) 

"The  heart  of  man  can  never  enjoy  true  peace  till 
it  is  divested  of  all  that  is  not  God,  and  entirely 
devoted  to  His  holy  love,,  to  the  exclusion  of  every 
other  object.  But  man  himself  cannot  attain  to 
this  perfect  consecration  of  his  being  to  God  ;  he 
can  only  obtain  it  by  constant  prayer.  As  to  the 
sleep  or  suspension  of  the  powers,  we  should  entreat 
the  Almighty  to  keep  them  in  a  profound  sleep 
with  regard  to  all  temporal  affairs  and  awake  only 
to  meditate  on  His  Divine  goodness,  and  to  seek 
Divine  love  and  eternal  goods.  For  all  sanctity, 
and  the  perfection  of  charity,  consist  in  the  union 
of  our  will  with  the  holy  will  of  God.  As  to  union 
of  the  powers,  we  should  only  pray  that  God  may 
teach  us  by  His  grace,  not  to  think  of,  or  seek,  or 
wish  for  anything  but  what  He  wills.  As  to 
13* 


150  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

ecstacy  or  rapture,  let  us  beseech  the  Lord  to  eradi- 
cate from  our  hearts  all  inordinate  love  of  ourselves 
and  of  creatures,  and  to  draw  us  entirely  to  Him- 
self. As  to  the  flight  of  the  spirit,  we  should  merely 
implore  the  grace  of  perfect  detachment  from  the 
world,  that,  like  the  swallow  which  never  seeks  its 
food  on  the  earth,  and  even  feeds  in  its  flight,  we 
may  never  fix  our  heart  on  any  sensual  enjoyment, 
but,  always  tending  towards  heaven,  employ  the 
goods  of  this  world  only  for  the  support  of  life. 
As  to  the  impulse  of  spirit,  let  us  ask  of  God  cour- 
age and  strength  to  do  that  violence  to  ourselves 
which  may  be  necessary  to  resist  the  attacks  of  the 
enemy,  to  overcome  our  passions,  or  to  embrace 
sufferings  even  in  the  midst  of  spiritual  dryness 
and  desolation.  Finally,  as  to  the  ivound  of  love, 
as  the  remembrance  of  a  wound  is  constantly  kept 
alive  by  the  pain  it  inflicts,  so  we  should  supplicate 
our  Lord  to  wound  our  hearts  with  holy  love  to 
such  a  degree  that  we  may  be  always  reminded  of 
His  goodness  and  affection  towards  us,  that  thus  we 
may  devote  our  lives  to  love  and  please  Him  by  our 
works  and  affections.  These  graces  will  not  be  ob- 
tained without  prayer,  but  by  humble,  confident 
and  persevering  prayer,  all  the  gifts  of  God  may  be 
procured."  Let  us,  then,  always  pray  the  Lord  to 
hear 'us,  not,  indeed,  according  to  our  will,  but 
rather  to  grant  us  what  may  be  conducive  to  our 
sanctification  and  salvation.     Let  us  not  be  like  the 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  151 

blind  man  in  the  Gospel,  whom  onr  Saviour  asked, 
"  What  wilt  thou  that  I  do  to  thee."  (Luke  xviii. 
41.)  "  Indeed,"  says  St.  Bernard,  "  this  man  was 
truly  blind,  God  finding  it  necessary  to  ask  him 
what  He  should  do  to  him  ;  he  should  have  said  : 
Lord,  he  it  far  from  me  that  Thou  shouldst  do  to  me 
according  to  my  will  ;  no,  do  to  me  according  to 
Thy  will,  and  what  Thou  knowest  is  best  for  me." 
St.  Jerome  writes,  in  his  letter  to  Salvian,  that 
Nebridius  was  in  the  habit  of  asking  of  God  to  give 
him  what  He  knew  was  most  suitable  for  him. 
Hence  St.  John  says  :  "  This  is  the  confidence 
which  we  have  towards  God,  that  whatsoever  we 
shall  ask,  according  to  His  ivill,  He  heareth  us." 
(I.  John,  v.  14.) 

Such   was  the   prayer   of  Solomon.     "And   the 

Lord  appeared  to  Solomon saying  : 

Ask  what  thou  wilt  that  I  should  give  thee.  And 
Solomon  said  :  ....  0,  Lord  God,  Thou 
hast  made  Thy  servant  king,  instead  of  David,  my 
father,  and  I  am  but  a  child,  and  know  not  how  to 
go  out  and  come  in,  ...  .  give,  therefore, 
Thy  servant  an  understanding  heart  ...  to 
discern  between  good  and  evil.  And  the  Lord  said 
to  Solomon  :  Because  thou  hast  asked  this  thing, 
and  hast  not  asked  for  thyself  long  life,  nor  riches, 
nor  the  lives  of  thy  enemies,  but  has  asked  for 
thyself  wisdom  to  discern  judgment,  behold,  I  have 
done  for  thee  according  to  thy  words,  and  have  given 


152  ON   THE  CONDITIONS  AND 

thee  a  wise  and  understanding  heart,  insomuch  that 
there  has  been  no  one  like  thee  before  thee,  nor 
shall  arise  after  thee.  Yea,  and  the  things  also 
which  thou  didst  not  ask,  I  have  given  thee,  to-wit, 
riches  and  glory,  so  that  no  one  hath  been  like 
thee  among  the  kings  in  all  days  heretofore."  (Ill- 
Kings  iii.,  5,  6,  1,  14.) 

Solomon  is  called  the  "  Wise  Man,"  and,  indeed, 
he  manifested  great  wisdom  in  his  prayer  to  God  ; 
so  much  so  that  the  Lord  praised  him  for  it,  and 
granted  him  not  only  what  he  asked,  but  even  far 
more  than  he  could  expect.  Let  us  pray  like  him, 
saying  :  "  Lord,  I  am  living  in  a  wicked  world, 
surrounded  with  dangers,  which  lead  to  perdition. 
I  am  like  a  child,  not  knowing  how  to  walk  or  to 
follow  the  true  way.  Give,  therefore,  to  Thy  ser- 
vant an  understanding  heart  to  discern  between 
good  and  evil.  Make  me  understand  what  a  great 
evil  sin  is,  and  what  a  great  good  it  is  to  love  Thee 
above  all  things.  Give  me  a  great  hatred  to  sin, 
and  make  me  love  Thee  most  ardently  to  the  end  of 
my  life." 

Or,  let  us  pray  like  St.  Francis  of  Assisium  : 
"  Our  Father,"  most  blessed,  most  holy,  our  Cre- 
ator, Redeemer,  and  Comforter ;  "  Who  art  in 
heaven;"  where  Thou  dwellest  with  the  Angels 
and  the  Saints,  whom  Thou  enlightenest  and  in- 
flamest  with  Thy  love  so  that  they  may  know  Thee  ; 
for  Thou,  0  Lord,  art  the  life  and  love  that  dwell 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  153 

in  them  ;  Thou  art  their  everlasting  happiness, 
communicating  Thyself  to  them  ;  Thou  art  the 
supreme  and  eternal  source  from  which  all  blessings 
flow,  and  without  Thee  there  is  none  ;  "  Hallowed 
be  Thy  name  ;"  enlighten  us  with  Thy  Divine 
Wisdom,  that  we  may  be  able  to  know  Thee  and  to 
comprehend  the  boundless  extent  of  Thy  mercies  to 
us,  Thy  everlasting  promises,  Thy  sublime  majesty, 
and  Thy  profound  judgments;  "  Thy  kingdom 
come  ;"  so  that  Thy  grace  may  reign  in  our  hearts, 
and  prepare  us  for  Thy  heavenly  kingdom,  where 
we  shall  see  Thee  clearly  and  perfectly  love  Thee, 
rejoicing  with  Thee  and  in  Thee  through  all  eter- 
nity ;  u  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  hea- 
ven ;"  that  being  occupied  with  Thee  we  may  love 
Thee  with  our  whole  heart  ;  with  our  whole  soul, 
desiring  nothing  but  Thee,  with  our  whole  mind, 
referring  all  things  to  Thee,  and  ever  seeking  Thy 
glory  in  all  our  actions,  with  our  whole  strength, 
employing  all  our  faculties,  both  of  body  and  soul 
in  Thy  service,  applying  them  to  no  other  end 
whatsoever  than  to  promote  Thy  kingdom,  seeking 
to  draw  all  men  to  Thee,  and  to  love  our  neighbor 
as  ourselves,  rejoicing  at  his  welfare  and  happiness 
as  if  it  were  our  own,  sympathizing  with  his  neces- 
sities and  giving  no  offence  to  him  ;  u  Give  us  this 
day  our  daily  bread  ;"  Thy  dearly  beloved  Son,  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  ask  Him  of  Thee  as  our  daily 
bread,  in  order  that  we  may  be  mindful  of  the  love 


154  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

He  testified  for  us  and  of  the  things  He  promised, 
did,  and  suffered  for  us  ;  grant  us  the  grace  always 
to  keep  them  in  our  thoughts,  and  to  value  them 
exceedingly  ;  "  Forgive  us  our  trespasses  ;"  through 
Thy  unspeakable  mercy,  through  the  merits  of  the 
passion  and  death  of  Thy  most  dearly  beloved  Son, 
through  the  intercession  of  the  Holy  Virgin  Mary, 
and  of  all  the  Saints  ;  "  As  we  forgive  them  that 
trespass  against  us  ;"  grant  us  the  grace  that  we 
may  sincerely  and  truly  forgive  our  enemies,  and 
pray  earnestly  to  Thee  for  them  ;  that  we  may 
never  return  evil  for  evil,  but  seek  to  do  good  to 
those  who  injure  us  ;  "  And  lead  us  not  into  temp- 
tation ;"  whether  it  be  concealed,  manifest,  or  sud- 
den ;  "But  deliver  us  from  evil;"  past,  present, 
and  future." 

Let  us  also  learn  from  this  prayer,  the  u  Our 
Father,"  how  pleasing  it  must  be  to  God  to  pray 
for  others,  for  the  petitions  are  all  made  in  common, 
not  for  one's  self  individually.  This  manner  of 
praying  is  conformable  to  the  example  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and,  therefore,  it  must  be  most  accept- 
able to  Him  to  remember  others  in  our  prayers. 
Indeed,  His  whole  life  was  a  continual  prayer  for 
the  just  as  well  as  for  sinners.  "  And  not  for  them 
only  (the  Apostles)  do  I  pray,  but  for  them  also  ; 
who,  through  their  word,  shall  believe  in  Me,  that 
they  all  may  be  one,  as  Thou,  Father,  in  me  and  I 
in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  Us,  that  the 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  155 

world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast  sent  Me."    (John 
xvii.,  20,  21.) 

"  Pray  one  for  another  that  you  may  be  saved." 
(Epis.  St.  James  v.  16:)  And  we  are  especially 
bound  to  pray  for  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  our 
Holy  Father,  the  Pope,  the  Bishops  and  clergy  of 
the  Holy  Catholic  Church,  and  for  all  those  who 
labor  for  the  propagation  of  our  holy  faith.  This 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  exhorts  us  to  do  by  His  ex- 
ample. "  And  now  I  am  no  more  in  the  world ; 
and  these  (Apostles)  are  in  the  world,  and  I  come  to 
Thee.  Holy  Father,  keep  them  in  Thy  name, 
whom  Thou  hast  given  Me  ;  that  they  may  be  one 
as  We  also  are.  ...  I  do  not  ask  that  Thou 
shouldst  take  them  away  out  of  the  world,  but  that 
Thou  shouldst  preserve  them  from  evil.  Sanctify 
them  in  truth.  .  .  .  Father,  I  will  that  where 
I  am,  they  also  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me,  may 
may  be  with  Me  ;  that  they  may  see  My  glory  which 
Thou  hast  given  Me  ;  (John  xvii.  11,  15,  17,  24.) 
Although  we  should  pray  earnestly  for  the  prelates" 
and  pastors  of  the  Church,  yet  we  must  not  forget 
to  recommend  to  God  all  poor  sinners,  as  well  as 
infidels,  heretics,  and  schismatics,  this  is  also  ac- 
cording to  the  example  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
Saints.  Our  Lord's  first  prayer,  when  hanging  on 
the  cross,  was  for  the  greatest  sinners  and  His  most 
bitter  enemies.  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do."  (Luke  xxiii.  34.)  "  He 
that  knoweth  his  brother  to  sin  a  sin  which  is  not 


156  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

unto  death,  let  him  ask,  and  life  shall  be  given  to 
him  that  sinneth  not  to  death."  (I.  John  v.  16.) 
St.  Ambrose,  St.  Augustine  and  the  Ven.  Bede  and 
others  explain  the  words,  "  who  sinneth  not  to 
death,"  to  mean  that  class  of  sinners  who  do  not 
intend  to  remain  obstinate  till  death,  because  such 
would  require,  says  St.  Alphonsus,  a  very  extra- 
ordinary grace.  But  for  other  sinners  God  promises 
their  conversion  if  we  pray  earnestly  for  them. 
"  Let  him  ask  and  life  (the  life  of  grace)  shall  be 
given  him  for  him  that  sinneth."  The  great  effi- 
cacy of  such  prayers,  when  they  proceed  from  the 
heart,  is  evinced  from  a  variety  of  examples.  In- 
stances occur  every  day  in  which  God  rescues  indi- 
viduals of  every  class  of  sinners  from  the  powers  of 
darkness,  and  transfers  them  into  the  kingdom  of 
His  beloved  Son,  making  them  from  being  vessels 
of  wrath,  become  vessels  of  mercy,  and  that  in  real- 
izing so  happy  a  consummation,  the  prayers  of  the 
pious  have  considerable  influence  no  one  can  rea- 
sonably doubt,  "for  God  willingly  hears  the  prayer 
of  a  Christian,"  says  St.  John  Chrysostom,  "  not 
only  when  offered  for  himself,  but  also  for  another. 
Necessity  obliges  us  to  pray  for  ourselves,  charity  ex- 
horts us  to  pray  for  others.  The  prayer  of  fraternal 
charity,  he  adds,  is  more  acceptable  to  God  than 
that  of  necessity."  (Chrysost.  Horn.  14  oper.  im- 
pel*, in  Matt.)  The  prayer  for  sinners,  says  St. 
Alphonsus,  is  not  only  beneficial  to  them,  but  is. 


QUALITIES  OF   PRAYER.  157 

moreover,  most  pleasing  to  God ;  and  the  Lord 
Himself  complains  of  His  servants  who  do  not  re- 
commend sinners  to  Him.  He  said  one  day  to  St. 
Mary  Magdalen  of  Pazzi :  "  See,  my  daughter,  how 
the  Christians  are  in  the  devil's  hands,  if  My  elect 
did  not  deliver  them  by  their  prayers,  they  would 
be  devoured."  Inflamed  by  these  words  with  holy 
zeal,  this  Saint  used  to  offer  to  God  the  Blood  of 
the  Redeemer  fifty  times  a  day  in  behalf  of  sin- 
ners, and  she  was  quite  wasted  away  with  the  de- 
sire for  their  conversion.  "  Ah,"  she  would  ex- 
claim, "  how  great  a  pain  it  is,  0  Lord,  to  see  how 
one  could  help  Thy  creatures  by  dying  for  them 
and  not  be  abl'e  to  do  so."  In  every  one  of  her 
spiritual  exercises  she  would  recommend  sinners  to 
God,  and  it  is  related  in  her  life  that  she  scarcely 
spent  an  hour  in  the  day  without  praying  for  them  ; 
she  would  even  frequently  arise  in  the  middle  of 
the  night  to  go  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament  to  offer 
prayers  for  them.  She  went  so  far  as  to  desire  to 
endure  even  the  pains  of  hell  for  their  conversion, 
provided  she  could  still  love  God  in  that  place,  and 
God  granted  her  wish  by  inflicting  on  her  most  vio- 
lent pains  and  infirmities  for  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners ;  and  yet  after  all  this  she  would  shed  bitter 
tears,  thinking  she  did  nothing  for  their  conversion. 
"Ah,  Lord,  make  me  die,"  she  would  exclaim, 
"and  return  to  life  again  as  many  times  as  is 
necessary  to  satisfy  Thy  justice  for  them."  God, 
14 


158  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

as  is  related  in  her  life,  did  not  fail  to  give  the 
grace  of  conversion  to  many  sinners  on  account  of 
her  fervent  prayers.  Hence,  St.  Alphonsus  says  : 
"  Souls  that  really  love  God  will  never  neglect  to 
pray  for  poor  sinners." 

How  could  it  be  possible  for  a  person  who  really 
loves  God  and  knows  His  ardent  love  for  our  souls, 
and  how  much  He  wishes  us  to  pray  for  sinners, 
and  how  much  Jesus  Christ  has  done  and  suffered 
for  their  salvation,  how  can  such  a  one,  I  say,  look 
with  indifference  on  so  many  poor  souls,  deprived 
of  God's  grace,  being  so  many  slaves  of  hell,  with- 
out feeling  moved  to  importune  God  with  frequent 
prayers  to  give  light  and  strength  to  these  wretched 
beings  in  order  that  they  may  come  out  of  the  mis- 
erable state  of  spiritual  death  in  which  they  are 
slumbering  ?  True  it  is,  God  has  not  promised  to 
grant  our  petitions  in  the  case  of  those  who  put 
a  positive  impediment  in  the  way  of  their  con- 
version. Yet  God,  in  His  Goodness,  has  often 
deigned,  through  the  prayers  of  His  servants,  to 
bring  back  the  most  blind  and  obstinate  sinners  to 
the  way  of  salvation  by  means  of  extraordinary 
graces.  Therefore,  we  should  never  fail  to  recom- 
mend poor  sinners  to  God  in  all  our  spiritual  exer- 
cises ;  moreover,  he  who  prays  for  others  will  expe- 
rience that  his  prayers  for  himself  will  be  heard 
much  sooner.  In  the  life  of  St.  Margaret  of  Cor- 
tona,    we   read   that   she   would    pray    more   than 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  159 

a  hundred  times  a  day  for  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners, and,  iudeed,  so  numerous  were  their  conver- 
sions, that  the  Franciscan  fathers  complained  to  her 
of  not  being  able  to  hear  the  confessions  of  all  those 
who  were  converted  by  her  prayers. 

The  Cure  of  Ars,  who  died  a  few  years  since  in 
the  odor  of  sanctity,  in  one  of  his  catechetical  in- 
structions, relates  as  follows:  "  A  great  lady,  of 
one  of  the  first  families  in  France,  has  been  here 
and  went  away  this  morning.  She  is  rich,  very- 
rich,  and  scarcely  twenty-three.  She  has  offered 
herself  to  God  for  the  conversion  of  sinners  and  the 
expiation  of  sin.  She  mortifies  herself  in  a  thou- 
sand ways,  wears  a  girdle  all  armed  with  iron 
points ;  her  parents  know  nothing  of  it ;  she  is  as 
white  as  a  sheet  of  paper."  (Spirit  of  Cure  of 
Ars.)  The  same  saintly  pastor  said  one  day  to  a 
priest  who  complained  of  not  being  able  to  change 
the  hearts  of  his  parishioners  for  the  better,  "  you 
prayed,  you  wept,  you  sighed,  but  did  you  fast  also, 
did  you  deprive  yourself  of  sleep,  did  you  sleep  on 
the  bare  ground,  did  you  scourge  yourself.  Do  not 
think  you  have  done  all  if  you  have  not  yet  done 
these  penances."  If  we  do  not  love  poor  sinners 
that  much,  if  we  think  it  above  our  strength  to 
perform  similar  penitential  works  for  their  conver- 
sion, let  us  at  least  do  something,  let  us  recommend 
them  to  the  sacred  hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  or 
ourselves  for  a  week  or  two  as  a  holocaust  to 


160  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

God  to  be  disposed  of  according  to  His  good  pleas- 
ure, suffer  some  cold,  some  heat,  some  inconve- 
nience, some  contradiction  and  contempt  in  silence, 
let  us  deny  ourselves  some  agreeable  visits,  or  other 
natural  pleasures  ;  or  let  us  make  a  Novena,  or  hear 
Mass  daily  for  a  week  and  offer  up  our  Communions 
with  this  intention.  We  may  be  assured  by  these 
and  such  exercises  we  shall  give  great  pleasure  to 
Jesus  Christ,  contribute  much  to  the  honor  of  His 
heavenly  Father,  win  His  heart  over  to  ourselves, 
force  it  sweetly  to  give  the  grace  of  conversion  to 
many  sinners,  and  obtain  for  ourselves  a  large  share 
of  Divine  Grace. 

II. — Our  Prayer  must  be  Humble. 

t  ll  Two  men  went  up  into  the  temple  to  pray  ;  the 
one  a  Pharisee,  the  other  a  Publican.  The  Phar- 
isee, standing,  prayed  thus  to  himself:  (  0  God,  I 
give  Thee  thanks  that  I  am  not  as  the  rest  of  men, 
extortioners,  unjust  adulterers,  as  also  is  this  Pub- 
lican. I  fast  thrice  in  the  week ;  I  give  tithes  of 
all  I  possess/  And  the  Publican,  standing  afar  off, 
would  not  so  much  as  lift  up  his  eyes  towards  hea- 
ven, but  struck  his  breast,  saying :  '  0  Lord,  be 
merciful  to  me  a  sinner.'  I  say  to  you,  this  man 
went  down  to  his  house  justified  rather  than  the 
other."  (Luke  xviii.  10-14.)  In  this  parable  of 
the   Pharisee   and   the   Publican,   our   Lord  Jesus 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  161 

Christ  teaches  us  that  prayer  without  humility  ob- 
tains nothing.  As  the  Pharisee  left  the  temple 
just  as  had  and  as  sinful  as  he  entered,  so  shall  we 
not  improve  by  prayer  if  we  pray  with  the  same 
sentiments  of  pride  and  self-conceit.  Even  com- 
mon sense  tells  us  that  prayer,  to  be  good,  must  be 
humble.  Should  a  poor  man  beg  alms  in  a  haughty 
and  impudent  manner,  he  would  be  despised  and 
rejected  by  an  interior  conviction,  telling  every  per- 
son that  to  beg  and  to  be  proud  at  the  same  time  is  a 
most  despicable  thing  ;  yea,  an  abomination  in  the 
eyes  of  all  men.  True  beggars  know  this  but  too 
well ;  they  study  different  manners  and  ways  to 
show  themselves  humble  ;  they  take  the  last  place  ; 
they  adopt  humble  language  ;  if  you  meet  them, 
they  fall  prostrate  before  you,  asking  alms  with 
joined  hands  and  with  tears  often  artfully  expressed. 
Should  they  have  a  good  suit  of  clothes,  they  will 
put  on  ragged  and  tattered  ones  when  they  go  out 
begging.  How  many  humble  reasons  do  they  not 
allege,  such  as  not  having  eaten  anything  for  the 
whole  day.  They  pretend  they  are  suffering  innu- 
merable infirmities,  and  so  lamentable  are  their 
sighs  that  even  hearts  of  stone  could  not  help  feel- 
ing for  them.  No  one  blames  them  for  this  con- 
duct ;  every  one,  on  the  contrary,  approves  of  it, 
and  condemns  the  opposite  manner  of  acting. 

If   humility,  then,  is  required  from   men  when 
asking  relief  of  their  fellow-men,  how  much  more 
14* 


162  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

will  it  not  be  required  from  us  by  the  Lord  of 
heaven  and  earth,  when  we  address  Hirn  in  prayer? 
To  know  that  we  are  sinners,  and  have  so  often 
grievously  offended  the  Divine  Majesty  ;  that  we 
have  crucified  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  by  our  heinous 
sins  ;  to  know  that  if  God  did  not  assist  us  every 
day  we  would  commit  most  shameful  and  atrocious 
crimes,  becoming  even  worse  than  the  brute,  is  un- 
doubtedly a  sufficient  reason  why  we  should  always 
remain  humble,  and  pray  with  sentiments  of  exte- 
rior and  interior  humility,  saying  with  the  Publican, 
"  Lord  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  that  we,  like 
him,  may  always  come  forth  from  prayer  more  ac- 
ceptable, more  justified,  and  more  sanctified  in  the 
sight  of  God,  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth. 
"  From  the  beginning  have  the  proud  not  been  ac- 
ceptable to  Thee,"  said  Judith,  "  but  the  prayer  of 
the  humble  and  the  meek  hath  always  pleased 
Thee."     (Judith  ix.,  16.) 

How  great  was  not  the  wisdom  which  Solomon,  the 
Wise,  received  in  prayer.  But  in  what  manner  and/ 
with  what  sentiments  did  he  pray  ?  Holy  Writ 
says  that  Solomon,  when  praying,  "  had  fixed  both 
knees  on  the  ground,  and  had  spread  his  hands 
towards  heaven."  (III.  Kings,  viii.,  54.)  St. 
Stephen  effected  by  his  prayer  the  conversion  of  St. 
Paul  the  Apostle,  and  many  others  of  his  enemies. 
But  how  humble  was  not  his  prayer.  "  Falling  on 
his  knees,"  says  Holy  Scripture,  "  he  cried  with  a 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  163 

loud  voice,  saying  :  Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their 
charge."  (Acts  vii.,  59.)  How  humble  must  not 
have  been  the  prayer  of  St.  James  the  Apostle  ; 
for  most  of  the  time  he  would  pray  on  his  knees  ; 
for  this  reason  the  skin  of  his  knees  had  be- 
come as  hard  as  that  of  a  camel.  St.  John  Chry- 
sostom  adds  that  also  the  skin  of  his  forehead 
had  become  quite  hard  from  lying  with  it  prostrate 
on  the  ground  whilst  at  prayer.  Kibadeneira  and 
others  relate  the  same  of  St.  Bartholomew  the 
Apostle. 

The  good  thief  received  the  forgiveness  of  his 
sins,  but  before  asking  it,  he  humbled  himself, 
avowing  before  the  whole  world  what  he  was,  and 
wli.it  he  had  deserved.  "  We  receive  the  due  re- 
ward of  our  deeds."  (Luke  xxiii.,  41.)  The 
woman  of  Canaan  suffers  herself  to  be  compared  to 
a  dog  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  she  does  not  feel 
herself  insulted  by  this  comparison,  believing,  as 
she  did,  that  she  deserved  this  name.  Our  dear 
Saviour  wondered  at  this,  saying:  "  Oh,  woman, 
great  is  thy  faith."  (Math,  xv.,  28.)  Her  faith  was 
so  great  because  her  humility  was  astonishingly 
great.  Hence  she  heard  from  the  mouth  of  our 
Lord  these  consoling  words  :  "  Be  it  done  to  thee 
as  thou  wilt."  The  prodigal  son  says  :  "Father, 
I  have  tinned  against  heaven  and  before  thee  ;  I  am 
not  now  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son  ;  make  me  as 
one  of  thy  hired  servants."     (Luke  xv.,  18.)     The 


164  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

father,  seeing  this  great  humility  and  sorrow  in  his 
son,  forgot  all  his  guilt  at  once,,  receiving  him  as 
one  of  his  best  children.  God  will  treat  us  in  the 
same  manner,  if  we  present  ourselves  before  Him 
with  the  like  sentiments  of  humility  and  unworthi- 
ness.  When  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  said  to  the 
Centurion,  "I  will  come  and  heal  thy  servant," 
the  Centurion  answered  :  Ci  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy 
that  Thou  should  enter  under  my  roof."  (Math, 
viii.,  8.)  This  humility  and  faith  of  the  Centurion 
pleased  our  Saviour  so  much  that  He  said  to  him  : 
"  Go,  and  as  thou  hast  believed,  so  be  it  done  to 
thee,  and  the  servant  was  healed  at  the  same  hour." 
(Math,  viii.,  13.) 

Now,  in  what  manner  did  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
Himself  pray.  "  Kneeling  down,  he  prayed." 
(Luke  xxii.,  47.)  Nay,  He  did  more:  "He  fell 
upon  His  face  praying  and  saying  :  {  My  Father,  if 
it  be  possible,  let  this  chalice  pass  from  me.'  ' 
(Math,  xxvi.,  39.)  St.  Thais  did  not  even  dare  so 
much  as  to  pronounce  the  narne  of  God  when  pray- 
ing, after  her  conversion  from  her  sinful  life.  Hence 
she  would  say  :  "  Thou  "Who  madest  me  have  pity 
on  me."  St.  Paul  the  hermit,  was  so  much  accus- 
tomed to  pray  on  his  knees,  and  with  his  hands 
lifted  up  to  heaven,  that  he  died  in  this  posture,, 
remaining  so  after  death.  Is  it,  then,  astonishing 
that  the  Saints  should  have  received  so  many  and 
so  great  favors  from  God,  since  their  humility  was 


QUALITIES   OF   PRATER.  165 

so  great  and  so  pleasing  to  Him?  "  To  the  humble 
God  giveth  grace,"  says  the  Apostle  St.  James. 
"  Their  prayer  shall  pierce  the  clouds."  (Eccles. 
xxxv.,  21.) 

'?Yes,"  says  St.  Alphousus,  "  should  a  soul  have 
committed  ever  so  many  sins,  yet  the  Lord  will  not 
reject  it,  if  it  knows  how  to  humble  itself."  ci  A 
contrite  and  humble  heart,  0  God,  Thou  wilt  not 
despise."  (Ps.  1.  19).  As  He  is  severe  and  inex- 
orable to  the  proud,  so  is  He  bountiful,  merciful 
and  liberal  to  the  humble.  "  Know,  My  daugh- 
ter," said  Jesus  Christ  one  day  to  St.  Catherine  of 
Sienna,  "  that  whosoever  shall  humbly  persevere 
in  asking  graces  of  Me,  shall  obtain  all  virtues." 
n  Never  did  I,"  said  St.  Teresa,  "  receive  more  fa- 
vors from  the  Lord,  than  when  I  humbled  myself 
before  His  divine  Majesty." 


III. — Our  Prater  must  be  Fervent. 

Well  hath  Isaias  prophesied  of  you  saying, 
this  people  honoreth  me  with  their  lips ;  but 
their  heart  is  far  from  me."  (Matt.  xv.  8.)  In 
these  words  our  Saviour  gives  us  to  understand, 
that  a  prayer  which  proceeds  not  from  the  heart,  or 
which  is  not  devout  and  fervent,  is  not  heard  by  His 
Heavenly  Father.  There  are  many  Christians  who 
recite  their  prayers  without  thinking  of  what  they 
say.     Should   they  be  required  to  tell  what  they 


i '. 


166  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

asked  of  our  Lord,  they  would  be  at  a  loss  for  an 
answer.  The  prayers  of  such  Christians  are  quite 
powerless  with  God.  As  the  pipes  of  an  organ  will 
not  produce  their  musical  sounds  unless  inflated  by 
the  bellows,  so,  in  the  same  manner,  prayer,  unless 
prompted  by  the  fervor  of  the  heart,  will  fail  to  be 
agreeable  to  the  ears  of  God.  One  Our  Father, 
said  with  fervor,  is  better  and  obtains  more  from 
God  than  the  entire  Kosary  recited  a  dozen  times  in 
a  careless  manner.  St.  Bernard  once  saw  how  an 
angel  of  the  Lord  wrote  down  in  a  book  the  divine 
praises  of  each  of  his  brethren  when  they  were  reci- 
ting the  Divine  Office  ;  some  were  written  in  letters 
of  gold  to  express  the  devotion  and  fervor  with 
which  they  were  recited  ;  others  in  letters  of  silver, 
on  account  of  the  pure  intention  with  which  they 
were  performed  ;  others  were  written  with  ink,  to 
signify  that  they  were  said  by  way  of  routine  and 
in  a  slothful  manner  ;  others  again  were  written 
with  water  color,  to  indicate  that  they  had  been 
performed  with  great  lukewarmness  and  without 
devotion  or  fervor.  Of  some  religious  the  divine 
praises  were  not  written  down  at  all,  but  instead  of 
the  chanted  psalms,  the  following  words  were  writ- 
ten :  ei  This  people  honoreth  Me  with  their  lips, 
but  their  heart  is  far  from  Me,"  (Isai.  xxix.  13.) 
to  signify  that  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  was  much 
displeased  with  this  kind  of  prayer. 

Holy   Angels  !  show  us  once  your  book  that  we 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  167 

may  see  in  what  colors  the  prayers  of  so  many 
Christians  are  written  down,  especially  in  time  of 
prosperity,  when  no  calamity  forces  them  to  have 
recourse  to  God.  There  is  good  reason  to  fear,  that 
the  prayers  of  many  are  written  down  in  letters  of 
ink,  others  in  water  color,  and  the  greater  number 
of  them,  I  fear,  are  not  written  down  at  all ;  so 
that  the  devil  himself  must  rejoice  and  laugh  at 
them,  as  he  did  at  the  prayers  of  two  friars,  of 
whom  Jourdanus  speaks  :  "  They  recited  the  Divine 
Office  in  such  a  careless  manner,  that  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  it,  the  devil  appeared  and  cast  an  intoler- 
able odor  around,  at  the  same  time,  exclaiming  with 
great  laughter,  such  incense  is  due  to  such  prayer.' ' 
Moreover,  how  many  are  there  not  who  say  their 
prayers  without  being  at  all  in  earnest  to  obtain 
what  they  ask.  They  recite,  for  instance,  the  Our 
Father  a  hundred,  yea,  a  thousand  times,  without 
wishing,  at  all,  that  any  of  its  seven  petitions 
should  be  granted.  Let  us  examine  them  briefly. 
The  first  petition  is:  " Hallowed  be  Thy  name," 
that  is,  give  me,  and  to  all  men,  the  grace  to  know 
Thee  always  better  and  better  ;  to  honor,  praise, 
glorify,  and  love  Thee  ;  to  comprehend  the  great- 
ness of  Thy  blessings,  the  duration  of  Thy  promises, 
the  sublimity  of  Thy  Majesty,  and  the  depth  of  Thy 
judgments.  All  this  is  included  in  the  first  petition 
of  the  Our  Father.  But  where  are  those  who  truly 
and  wish    this    for   themselves   and  for 


1G8  '  ON    THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

others.  This  is  not  wished  for  by  any  of  those  whor 
when  entering  the  church,  do  not  even  think  of 
bending  the  knee  to  express  their  faith  in  the  name 
of  God. 

Secondly,  nor  by  those  who  do  not  desire  to  listen 
to  the  divine  word  in  sermons  and  Christian  in- 
structions, that  they  may  better  learn  their  duty 
towards  God,  themselves  and  their  fellow-men. 

Thirdly,  nor  by  those  who  never  think  of  pray- 
ing fervently  for  the  conversion  of  sinners,  heretics, 
Jews,  or  heathens. 

Fourthly,  nor  by  those  who  dishonor  the  name  of 
God,  by  cursing  and  swearing,  thus  teaching  others 
the  language  of  the  devil. 

Fifthly,  nor  by  those  who  are  ashamed  of  giving 
good  example,  who  think,  speak  and  act  bad,  when 
others  do  the  same. 

Sixthly,  nor  by  all  those  who  grievously  trans- 
gress any  of  the  Commandments  of  God,  and  thus 
dishonor,  despise  and  insult  the  name  of  God. 
Such  as  these,  certainly,  do  not  praise  and  honor 
God's  name,  and  yet  with  their  lips  they  will  always 
pray  :  "  Hallowed  be  Thy  name,"  without  contrib- 
uting anything  at  all  towards  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
of  heaven  and  earth.  Of  these  we  must  think, 
that  they  know  not  what  they  ask  or  do,  nor  wish  to 
obtain  what  they  ask. 

The  second  petition  is,  "  Thy  kingdom  come." 
Where  are  those  who  truly  wish  that  God  alone 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  165 

should  reign  in  their  hearts,  and  that  no  creature 
might  have  any  part  in  it?  Alas  !  most  men  feel 
provoked  at  the  least  temporal  loss,  at  the  slightest 
harsh  word.  And  what  account  do  the  generality 
of  men  make  of  the  grace  and  friendship  of  God  ? 
The  readiness  with  which  they  commit  sin,  tells  it 
sufficiently.  How  difficult  is  it  not  for  the  priest  to 
prevail  upon  them  so  far  as  to  make  them  go  to 
confession  and  Holy  Communion  ?  How  seldom  do 
they  pray  ?  Shall  we  then  believe  that  those  who 
neglect  and  refuse  the  means  to  acquire  the  grace  of 
God  do  earnestly  pray,  "Thy  kingdom  come?" 
And  where  are  they  who  truly  desire  to  leave  this 
world  for  a  better  one  ?  Alas  !  should  death  knock 
at  their  door,  what  mourning,  what  alarm,  what 
tears  would  it  produce.  Nay,  many  even  are  so 
much  attached  to  this  life,  that  should  God  offer 
them  the  choice  between  heaven  and  earth,  they 
would  prefer  the  latter  ;  let  them  pray,  sigh  and 
exclaim  :  "  Thy  kingdom  come,"  their  prayer  is 
not  true,  because  they  do  not  wish  for  God's  King- 
dom. And  where  are  those  who  are  in  earnest 
when  they  pray  :  "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it 
is  in  heaven."  Were  God  to  say  to  them  :  "  Well, 
it  is  My  will  that  you  should  undergo  humiliations 
and  contempt ;  and  for  this  end  I  will  make  use  of 
your  neighbor,  of  your  friend,  of  your  companion. 
Like  Job,  you  shall  endure  the  loss  of  your  good 
name  and  your  honor  among  your  fellow-men,  or  of 
16  * 


166  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

your  children  and  all  your  earthly  goods/'  how- 
soon  would  every  one  of  them  change  his  prayer  ; 
Lord,  be  it  otherwise  done  to  me,  as  I  do  not  mean 
this  when  I  pray  :  u  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as 
it  is  in  heaven. " 

The  fourth  petition  is  :  "  Give  us  this  day  our 
daily  bread."  That  is,  give  us  everything  neces- 
sary for  the  support  of  our  temporal  and  spiritual 
life.  Of  course,  no  one  refuses  the  temporal ;  but 
where  are  those  who  truly  hunger  and  thirst  after 
the  food  of  their  souls  ;  after  prayer,  the  Word  of 
God,  Confession  and  Holy  Communion  ?  This  food 
is  relished  by  the  smallest  number  of  men  only, 
which  is  an  evident  proof  that  they  do  not  wish  to 
be  heard  when  they  make  this  petition. 

"  And  forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive 
them  that  have  trespassed  against  us."  Neither 
does  this  fifth  petition  of  our  Father  proceed  from 
the  heart  of  most  of  men.  They  all,  of  course, 
wish  that  God  should  forgive  them  every  sin,  guilt 
and  punishment,  but  they  themselves  do  not  want 
to  forgive.  How  long  do  they  not  preserve,  in  their 
hearts,  a  certain  aversion,  rancor,  even  enmity, 
caused  by  a  little  harsh  word,  insult  or  detraction 
of  their  fellow-men  ?  To  greet  them,  to  speak  to 
or  pray  for  them,  seems  too  hard  ;  against  such 
persons  they  must  speak  uncharitably  ;  slander 
them  on  every  favorable  opportunity  ;  nay,  even 
curse  them.     How  can  they  be  sincere  in  saying: 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  167 

<l  Forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  them  that 
have  trespassed  against  us  ?"  They  ask  forgiveness 
of  God  in  the  same  way  as  they  forgive  others. 
Certainly,  their  prayer  is  untrue,  therefore,  they  are 
insincere  in  this  manner  of  praying. 

"Lead  us  not  into  temptation" — that  is,  Lord, 
preserve  us  from  the  temptations  of  the  devil,  of 
the  flesh,  and  of  the  world.  But  alas  !  most  men 
love  the  occasion  of  temptations,  and  betake  them- 
selves wilfully  unto  them.  How  should  the  Lord, 
then,  preserve  them  from  temptations?  Most  as- 
suredly they  do  not  wish  at  all  to  be  heard  in  mak- 
ing this  petition. 

"  And  deliver  us  from  evil" — that  is,  preserve  us 
from  sin  ;  but  the  greater  number  of  men  commit 
them  deliberately  every  day,  not  doing  the  least 
violence  to  themselves  by  trying  to  avoid  the  occa- 
sions thereof;  or  to  have  immediate  recourse  to 
prayer  in  the  moment  of  temptation  ;  or  to  receive 
the'Sacraments  frequently.  As  they  do  not  make 
use  of  the  means  which  God  has  given  us  to  be  pre- 
served from  sin,  how  cab  they  pray  in  truth  or  in 
st:  "  Deliver  us  from  evil?"  They  do  not 
mean  it.  In  conclusion,  to  all  these  petitions  they 
say:  "  Amen" — that  is,  Lord,  grant  everything 
that  we  have  asked  in  these  seven  petitions.  But 
as  often  as  these  petitions  are  repeated  by  most 
men,  as  often  do  they  prove  untrue  ;  and  the  word 
Amen  is  also  identified  in  the  same  untruthfulness  : 


168  ON    THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

"We  do  not  mean  or  desire  it  in  this  sense." 
What,  then,  must  Almighty  God  think  of  such  a 
prayer  ?  What  would  you  think  of  me  were  I  to 
ask  of  you  what  you  knew  I  would  be  afraid  to  re- 
ceive ?  Would  you  not  consider  me  as  a  rash  man, 
wanting  to  test  your  kindness  and  liberality,  or  to 
turn  it  into  ridicule?  Certainly,  you  would  feel 
angry,  and  order  me  away  from  your  presence. 
Will  the  Lord,  then,  who  knows  full  well  what  is 
meant  in  my  prayer,  hear  me,  although  my  con- 
science tells  me  that  I  do  not  sincerely  wish  to  be 
heard  ?  Will  He  force  His  gifts  and  graces  upon 
us  whilst  we  do  not  appreciate  them,  or  have  any 
real  desire  for  them  ;  nay,  are  even  afraid  of  receiv- 
ing them  ?     Will  He  hear  such  a  prayer  ? 

We  must,  then,  be  in  earnest  to  obtain  by  our 
prayer  what  we  ask  in  it.  "Wilt  thou  be  made 
whole?"  said  our  Lord  to  the  man  languishing 
thirty-eight  years.  (John  v.  6.)  "  What  will  ye 
that  I  do  to  you?"  our  Lord  asked  the  two  blind 
men.  (Matt.  xxix.  32.)  Had  He  noticed  that  they 
were  not  in  earnest  in  their  petition  for  health,  He 
would  have  left  them  alone.  Holy  Scripture  says 
of  those  who  pray  to  God  in  earnest  and  with  fer- 
vor, that  they  cry  to  the  Lord.  Thus  holy  David 
says  of  himself:  "In  my  trouble  I  cried  to  the 
Lord  and  He  heard  me."  (Ps.  cxix.  1.)  And  the 
Lord  has  promised  to  hear  such  a  prayer.  "  He 
shall  cry  to  Me  and  I  will  hear  him."     (Ps.  lxL 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  169 

15.)  Now,  to  cry  to  the  Lord  means,  according  to 
St.  Bernard,  to  pray  with  an  earnest  and  great 
desire  to  be  heard.  The  greater  this  desire  is  the 
more  piercing  is  this  cry  of  prayer  to  the  ears  of 
God.  In  vain  do  we  hope  that  God  will  hear  our 
prayer  if  it  be  destitute  of  this  earnest  desire,  fer- 
vor, sighing,  crying  and  effusion  of  the  heart. 
Hence  the  prophet  Jeremias  says  :  "  Arise,  give 
praise  in  the  night,  in  the  beginning  of  the  watches  ; 
pour  out  thy  heart  like  water  before  the  face  of  the 
Lord  ;  lift  up  thy  hands  to  Him  for  the  life  of  thy 
little  children  that  have  fainted  for  hunger."  (Jer- 
emias ii.  19.)  Now,  what  is  it  to  pour  out  our 
heart  before  the  Lord?  It  is  to  pray,  to  sigh,  to 
cry  with  a  most  vehement  desire  to  be  heard  by  our 
Lord.  Hence  St.  Bernard  says:  "  Great  crying  in 
the  ears  of  the  Lord  is  a  vehement  desire,"  for  God 
considers  more  the  ardent  desire  and  love  of  the 
heart  than  the  cries  of  the  lips.  And  St.  Paul  says, 
in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  :  "  The  spirit  himself 
asketh  for  us  with  unspeakable  groanings."  (Ch. 
viii.  26.)  Hence  the  royal  prophet  says  of  his 
prayer:  "  In  His  sight  I  pour  out  my  prayer." 
(Ps.  cxli.  3.)  And  in  Ps.  (Ixi.  9.)  he  says  :  "  Pour 
out  your  heart  before  Him."  It  was  thus  that 
Anna  poured  out  her  heart  before  the  Lord  and  ob- 
tained the  holy  child  Samuel.  (I  Kings  i.  15.) 
"  As  Anna  had  her  heart  full  of  grief,  she  prayed 
to  the  Lord,  shedding  many  tears  ;  and  it  came  to 
15* 


170  ON   THE  CONDITIONS   AND 

pass,  as  she  multiplied  prayers  before  the  Lord," 
etc.  ;  here  the  holy  Fathers  ask  what  is  meant  by 
this  long  prayer  of  Anna,  since  she  besought  the 
Lord  only  in  a  few  words  to  grant  her  a  child.  St. 
John  Chrysostom  answers  and  says:  "Although, 
her  prayer  consisted  of  a  few  ^vords,  yet  it  was  long, 
on  account  of  the  interior  fervor  and  ardent  desire 
with  which  she  poured  out  her  heart  before  the 
Lord,  for  she  prayed  more  with  her  heart  than  with 
her  lips,  according  to  what  is  related  in  Holy  Scrip- 
ture.: "Now  Anna  spoke  from  her  heart,  whilst 
her  lips  only  moved,  but  her  voice  was  silent."  (I 
Kings  i.  13.)  "  Our  Lord  will,  therefore,  hear  us, 
provided  we  understand  how  to  pour  out  our  hearts 
in  prayer — that  is,  to  lay  open  before  Him  all  the 
wishes  and  desires  of  our  soul,  its  griefs,  sufferings, 
cares,  solicitudes  and  anxieties,  laying  them,  as  it 
were,  into  His  paternal  heart  and  into  the  bosom  of 
His  Divine  Providence,  in  order  that  He  may  come 
to  aid,  relieve  and  comfort  us."  Nay,  according 
to  St.  Paul,  we  ought  to  do  still  more.  In  his 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  (chap.  vi.  18.)  we  read : 
"By  all  prayer  and  supplication,  praying  at  all 
times  in  the  spirit,"  he  wishes  us  to  understand 
that  we  ought  to  go  as  far  as  even  to  conjure  God 
by  everything  sacred,  beseeching  Him,  by  the  death 
of  our  Divine  Saviour  upon  the  cross,  and  by  the 
precious  blood  of  Jesus  Christ ;  by  sighing,  crying, 
and  striking  our  breast ;  by  falling  prostrate  and 


QUALITIES   OP   PRAYER.  171 

the  like,  in  order  to  manifest  the  most  earnest 
fervor  and  ardent  desire  of  our  heart  in  prayer. 
Should  we,  then,  experience,  in  our  will,  a  certain 
languor,  sloth  and  tepidity  ;  nay,  even  a  certain 
repugnance  and  resistance  to  ask  favors  of  God 
with  fervor  and  earnestness,  we  must  beseech  our 
dear  Lord,  as  the  Holy  Church  does  in  one  of  her 
prayers,  to  compel  our  rebellious  wills,  by  means 
best  calculated  to  effect  this  holy  fervor  in  our 
hearts,  in  order  that  we  may  make  sure  of  being 
heard  and  of  receiving  what  we  pray  for. 

In  order*  to  produce  this  holy  fervor  in  our 
hearts,  God  often  sends  us  troubles,  crosses,  sick- 
ness, and  adversities  of  every  description,  nothing 
being  better  calculated  to  make  us  pray  with  fervor 
than  afflictions,  tribulations  and  crosses.  Let  the 
soul  be  under  heavy  sufferings  which  it  would  like 
to  cast  off,  surely  it  will  not  need  a  prayer-book. 
Then,  like  unto  hungry  beggars,  it  finds  a  flow  of 
words  to  produce  the  most  heartfelt  and  fervent 
prayer.  In  prosperous  times  the  prayer-book  is 
recurred  to,  but  in  the  hour  of  adversity  it  is  the 
heart  that  speaks.  If  before  the  lips  only  moved, 
it  is  now  the  whole  heart  that  is  put  in  motion, 
from  its  over-great  desire  to  be  heard  and  find  relief 
and  comfort.  Then,  like  David,  men  will  say  : 
"  All  the  day  I  cried  to  Thee,  0  Lord.  I  stretched 
out  my  hands  to  Thee."  (Ps.  Ixxxvii.,  10.)  u  Con- 
sider and  hear  me,  0  Lord,  my  God."    (Pp.  xii.,  4.) 


172  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

Such  prayers  are  most  pleasing  to  God,  and  He 
cannot  refuse  hearing  them,  according  to  what 
David  says  :  "  In  my  trouble  I  cried  to  the  Lord, 
and  he  heard  me."  (Ps.  cxix.,  1.)  Holy  Scrip- 
ture abounds  in  examples  of  this  truth.  When  the 
Prophet  Jonas  was  swallowed  by  the  whale,  and  car- 
ried about  in  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  he  prayed  most 
fervently  to  the  Lord,  his  God,  saying  :  "  Thou 
hast  cast  me  forth  into  the  heart  of  the  deep  sea, 
and  a  flood  hath  encompassed  me  ;  all  Thy  billows 
and  waves  have  passed  over  me."  (Jonas  ii.,  4.) 
He  then  said,  "I  cried  out  in  my  affliction  to  the 
Lord,  and  He  heard  me.  I  cried  out  of  the  belly  of 
hell,  and  Thou  hast  heard  my  voice."  (Verse  3.) 
How  great  was  the  affliction  of  Sara,  on  being  ac- 
cused of  having  murdered  seven  husbands,  but  who 
were  killed  by  a  devil  named  Asmodeus  at  their 
first  going  in  unto  her.  At  this  reproach,  says 
Holy  Scripture,  she  went  into  an  upper  chamber  of 
her  house,  and  for  three  days  and  three  nights  did 
neither  eat  nor  drink,  but  continuing  in  prayer 
with  tears,,  besought  God  to  deliver  her  from  this 
reproach.  u  And  her  prayers  were  heard  in  the 
sight  of  the  glory  of  the  Most  High  God."  (Job 
iii.,  10,  11.)  With  what  great  fervor  did  not  the 
Apostles  cry  out  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  amidst 
the  storms  of  the  sea.  "  Lord  save  us,  we  perish." 
And  He  heard  their  cry,  and  commanded  the  winds 
and  the  sea,  and  there  came  a  great  calm.     (Math. 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  173 

viii.,  2."),  26.)  Yes,  in  tribulation  is  truly  verified 
what  is  related  by  the  Ruler  in  the  Gospel  :  "And  he 
himself  believed  and  his  whole  house."  (John  iv., 
53.)  Not  only  one  member  of  the  family  will  pray  ; 
nay,  father,  mother,  children,  servants,  relatives, 
will  unite  in  beseeching  the  Lord. for  assistance,  be- 
cause grief  and  affliction  have  come  upon  the  whole 
house.  Thus  the  Latin  proverb  is  verified  :  "Qui 
nescit  orare,  eat  ad  mare/'  Let  him  who  does 
not  know  how  to  pray  with  fervor  make  a  voyage 
at  sea.  There  the  storms  and  dangers  of  death  will 
teach  him  to  pour  forth  most  fervent  prayers.  Such 
prayers  are  most  powerful  with  and  heard  by  the 
Lord. 

I  cannot  omit  remarking  that  tears  in  prayer  are 
most  powerful  with  God  to  obtain  our  petitions. 
The  Fathers  of  the  Church  are  profuse  in  bestowing 
praises  upon  humble  tears  of  the  soul.  The  Holy 
Scriptures  and  the  lives  of  the  Saints  abound  in 
examples  to  prove  their  power  with  God.  "  0, 
how  great  is  the  power  which  the  tears  of  sinners 
exercise  with  God,"  says  St.  Peter  Chrysolbgus. 
(Serm.  93.)  u  They  water  heaven,  wash  the  earth 
clean,  deliver  from  hell,  and  prevail  upon  God  to 
recall  the  sentence  of  damnation  pronounced  over 
every  mortal  sin."  "  Yes,"  says  Anselmus  Laudu- 
nensis,  commenting  on  the  words  of  the  Book  of 
Tobias,  chap,  iii.,  11,  "continuing  in  prayer,  with 
tears  he  besought  God."     "  Prayer  appeases  God, 


H4  ON    THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

hut  if  tears  are  added,  He  feels  overcome  and  unable 
to  resist  any  longer.  The  former  is  for  him  an 
odoriferous  balm — the  latter  is  a  sweet  tyranny." 
Hence  Julianus  (lib.  de.  Ligno  Vitae,  c.  ix.)  ex- 
claims with  truth:  "  0,  humble  tears,  how  great 
is  your  power,  how  great  is  your  reign  !  You  need 
not  fear  the  Tribunal  of  the  Eternal  Judge ;  you 
silence  all  your  accusers,  and  no  one  dares  to  pre- 
vent you  from  approaching  the  Lord  ;  should  you 
enter  alone  you  will  not  come  out  empty.  What 
more  !  You  conquer  the  unconquerable,  you  bind 
the  Omnipotent,  you  open  heaven,  you  chase  all 
the  devils."  "  Indeed,"  says  Peter  Cellensis,  (lib. 
de  Panibus,  c.  xii.,)  "  the  infernal  spirits  find  the 
flames  of  hell  more  supportable  than  our  tears." 
Hence  Cornelius  a  Lapide  remarks  :  "  One  tear  of 
the  sinner,  produced  by  the  sorrow  of  his  heart,  is 
capable  of  making  God  forgive  and  forget  many, 
even  the  most  atrocious  crimes."  For  this  reason, 
St.  Leo  the  Pope,  says  of  the  tears  of  St.  Peter, 
(Serm.  9  de  passione)  :  "0  !  happy  tears  of  thine,  0 
holy  Apostle  St.  Peter,  which  were  for  thee  a  holy 
baptism  to  cancel  thy  sin  of  denying  the  Lord." 
St.  Magdalen  asks  of  our  Lord  the  forgiveness  of 
her  numerous  and  great  sins;  but  in  what  manner? 
■"  She  began  to  wash  His  sacred  feet  with  her 
tears."  (Luke  vii.  38),  and  these  tears  moved  His 
compassionate  heart,  by  saying,  "  Many  sins  are 
forgiven  her,  because  she  hath  loved  much."     Why 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  175 

was  it  that  the  holy  patriarch  Jacob,  when  wrestling 
with  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  received  his  blessing? 
(Gen.  xxxii.)  it  was  because  he  asked  it  with  tears 
in  his  eyes.  "He  wept  and  made  supplication  to 
him."  (Osee  xii.  4.)  In  the  fourth  Book  of  Kings, 
chap,  xx.,  we  read  as  follows :  "  In  these  days 
Ezechias  was  sick  unto  death,  and  Isaias  the 
prophet  came  to  him  and  said  :  Thus  saith  the  Lord 
God  :  give  charge  concerning  thy  house,  for  thou 
shalt  die  and  not  live.  And  he  turned  his  face  to 
the  wall  and  prayed  to  the  Lord  saying  :  I  beseech 
Thee,  0  Lord,  remember  how  I  have  walked  before 
Thee  in  truth,  and  with  a  perfect  heart,  and  have 
done  that  which  is  pleasing  before  Thee.  And 
Ezechias  wept  with  much  weeping."  What  was  the 
effect  of  it  ?  Hearken  :  ' '  And  before  Isaias  was  gone 
out  of  the  middle  of  the  court,  the  word  of  the  Lord 
came  to  him  saying :  Go  back  and  tell  Ezechias, 
thus  saith  the  Lord :  I  have  heard  thy  prayer  and 
I  have  seen  thy  tears  ;  and  behold  I  have  healed 
thee  ;  on  the  third  day  thou  shalt  go  up  to  the  Tem- 
ple of  the  Lord.  And  I  will  add  to  thy  days  fifteen 
years."  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Himself  often 
prayed  with  tears  in  His  eyes,  according  to  what 
St.  Paul  the  Apostle  writes  :  "  Who  in  the  days  of 
His  flesh,  with  a  strong  cry  and  tears  offering  up 
prayers  and  supplication,  was  heard  for  His  rever- 
ence." Kb.  v.  7.)  In  his  comment,  chap.  xii. 
of  Zacharee,   Cornelius   a  Lapide  relates   that  St. 


1*76  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

Dunstan,  after  the  death  of  King  Edwin,  from 
whom  he  had  received  many  ill  treatments,  saw, 
whilst  at  prayer,  several  black  men  running  off 
with  the  soul  of  the  king  in  their  hands.  Forget- 
ting all  the  injuries  and  ill  treatments  which  he 
had  received  from  Edwin,  he  took  pity  on  him  in 
his  miserable  condition,  shedding  torrents  of  tears 
before  the  face  of  the  Lord,  for  the  deliverance  of  the 
king's  soul,  and  he  did  not  cease  weeping  and  pray- 
ing until  the  Lord  heard  him.  Soon  after,  he  saw 
the  same  black  men  again,  but  their  hands  were 
empty,  and  the  soul  of  the  king  was  no  longer  in 
their  possession.  They  then  commenced  to  curse, 
and  swear,  and  utter  the  most  abominable  impreca- 
tions against  the  servant  of  God,  to  which  St.  Dun- 
stan  paid  no  attention,  but  thanked  God  for  the 
extraordinary  great  mercy  shown  to  the  king."  Let 
us,  then,  with  Judith  (chap.  viii.  14),  pray  to  the 
Lord  with" tears,  asking  His  pardon,  His  graces,  and 
all  His  favors,  and  let  us  rest  assured,  that  as  a 
mother  cannot  help  consoling  her  weeping  child, 
neither  will  our  dear  Lord  refuse  the  petitions  of 
our  weeping  souls. 


QUALITIES   OF   TRAYER.  177 

IV. — Our  Prayer  must  be  Followed  by  Amend- 
ment of  Life. 

The  sinner  who  prays  to  God  for  salvation  with- 
out having  the  desire  to  quit  the  state  of  sin,  must 
not  expect  to  be  heard.  "  There  are,"  says  St. 
Alphonsus,  "  some  unhappy  persons,  who  love  the 
chains  with  which  the  devil  keeps  them  bound  like 
slaves.  The  prayers  of  such  are  never  heard  by 
God ;  because  they  are  rash,  presumptuous  and 
abominable.  For  what  greater  presumption  can 
there  be  than  for  a  man  to  ask  favors  of  a  Prince, 
whom  he  not  only  has  often  offended,  but  whom 
he  intends  to  offend  again?"  And  this  is  the  mean- 
ing of  the  words  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  when  He  says, 
that  the  prayer  of  him  who  turns  away  his  ears  so 
as  not  to  hear  what  God  commands,  is  detestable 
and  odious  to  God:  "  He  who  turneth  away  his 
ears  from  learning  the  law,  his  prayer  shall  be  an 
abomination."  (Prov.  xxviii.  9.)  To  these  people 
God  says,  "  it  is  of  no  use  your  praying  to  Me,  for 
I  will  turn  My  eyes  from  you  and  will  not  hear 
you  :  when  you  stretch  forth  your  hands  I  will  turn 
away  My  eyes  from  you,  and  when  you  multiply 
prayer  I  will  not  hear."  (Isai.  i.  15.)  Why  was 
the  Lord  so  severe  to  the  Jews,  His  chosen  people, 
inflicting  upon  them  the  hardest  punishments,  such 
as  the  Egyptian  bondage  in  which  they  suffered  for 
so  many  years  ?  How  often  did  they  not  pray  for 
16 


178  ON   TIIE   CONDITIONS   AND 

their  deliverance  ?  And  why  did  the  Lord  not  hear 
them?  The  prophet  Ezechiel  says:  "  And  they 
committed  fornication  in  Egypt;  in  their  youth  they 
committed  fornication."  (Chap,  xxiii.  3.)  Hence 
they  prayed  and  cried  to  God  in  vain.  But,  no 
sooner  had  they  done  away  with  their  sins  of  idola- 
try and  fornication,  than  the  Lord  graciously  heard 
them.  "And  the  children  of  Israel,  groaning, 
cried  out,  because  of  the  works  ;  and  their  cry 
went  up  unto  God  from  the  works,  and  He  heard 
their  groaning,  and  remembered  the  covenant 
which  He  made  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob ; 
and  the  Lord  looked  upon  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  He  knew  them."  (Enoch,  ii.  23,  25.)  The 
Ark  of  the  Covenant  was  a  great  treasure  for  the 
Jews.  When  it  was  carried  around  the  city  of 
Jerico,  the  walls  of  the  city  fell  down  ;  when  the 
Jews  had  arrived  with  it  at  the  river  Jordan,  the 
waters  of  the  river  divided,  the  lower  part  flowing 
off  and  the  upper  part  rising  like  a  mountain. 
Now,  after  the  Jews  had  lost  four  thousand  men  in 
one  day,  in  a  war  against  the  Philistines,  they  had 
the  Ark  brought  into  the  camp,  hoping  by  this  that 
the  Lord  would  protect  them,  and  deliver  their  ene- 
mies into  their  hands."  And  the  ancients  of  Israel 
said  :  u  Why  hath  the  Lord  defeated  us  to-day  be- 
fore the  Philistines  ?  Let  us  fetch  unto  us  the  Ark 
of  the  Covenant  of  the  Lord  from  Silo,  and  let  it 
come  in  the  midst  of  us  that  it  may  save  us  from 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  179 

the  hands  of  our  enemies.  And  when  the  Ark  of 
the  Covenant  of  the  Lord  was  come  into  the  camp, 
all  Israel  shouted  with  a  great  joy,  and  the  earth 
rang  again."  (I.  Kings  iv.)  Now,  they  thought 
they  had  no  more  to  fear  from  other  enemies,  who, 
at  the  sight  of  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  were 
panic-stricken,  so  much  so,  that  they  cried  out : 
"  God  is  come  into  the  camp."  And  sighing  they 
said  :  "  Woe  to  us  ;  who  shall  deliver  us  from  the 
hands  of  these  high  Gods?"  With  new  courage 
they  commenced  to  fight.  Were  they  victorious  ? 
By  no  means  ;  they  were  defeated  worse  than  ever, 
losing  thirty  thousand  men,  besides  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant.  One  might  ask  here :  Did  God  then 
cease  to  love  the  Israelites  ?  Most  assuredly  not, 
His  love  still  remained  the  same  as  before.  Why, 
then,  were  they  defeated  in  the  presence  of  the  Ark 
of  the  Covenant,  which  was  given  to  them  as  a  sign 
of  the  divine  blessing  and  protection?  "  But  for 
the  love  of  His  Ark,"  says  Theodoret,  "God  did  not 
wish  to  protect  His  people,  because,  after  having 
grievously  offended  Him,  they  did  not  repent  of  their 
sins.  It  was  with  sinful  hearts  they  paid  outward 
honor  to  the  Ark.  They  shouted  with  great  joy  as 
soon  as  they  beheld  it,  but  there  was  not  one  who 
shed  a  tear  of  repentance,  no  one  prayed  and  sighed 
with  a  sorrowful  heart.  Hence,  the  Ark  brought 
down  no  blessing  upon  them  at  that  period." 
"  Why,  then,  should  we  wonder,"  says  Dionysius, 


180  ON   THE   CONDITIONS    AND      , 

the  Carthusian,  "  if  we  see  miseries  and  calamities 
increase  among  the  Christians,  notwithstanding 
their  prayer  to  avert  them.  'Tis  because  they  pray 
with  sinful  and  criminal  hearts,  not  being  sorry,  in 
the  least,  for  their  evil  deeds,  nor  showing  the  slight- 
est desire  to  amend  their  lives."  Let  them  wear 
upon  their  persons  as  many  Agnus  Deis,  Relics  of 
the  Saints,  Gospels  of  St.  John  as  they  may  wish  ; 
let  them  even  pray  and  cry  to  heaven  as  much  as 
they  will,  all  these  articles  of  devotion,  prayers  and 
cries  will  be  of  no  avail,  if,  at  the  same  time,  they 
rent  out  their  hearts  to  the  devil,  not  wishing  to 
give  up  his  worship  and  service.  Instead  of  being 
heard,  they  will,  according  to  St.  Augustine,  be  so 
much  the  more  severely  punished.  "  Punish- 
ments," says  the  Saint,  "  become  more  frequent 
every  day,  because  the  number  of  sins  is  daily  in- 
creasing." 

If,  therefore,  we  wish  God  to  hear  our  prayers, 
we  must  endeavor  to  be  sorry  for  our  sins  and 
amend  our  lives.  "  Above  all,"  says  St.  Ambrose, 
"  we  must  weep  and  then  pray."  The  Lord  Him- 
self has  declared  this  quite  distinctly  by  the  prophet 
Isaias :  "I  will  not  hear  you;"  why  not?  "  for 
your  hands  are  full  of  blood  ;"  (Isaias  i.  15,)  full 
of  sins  and  iniquities. 

But,  on  the  contrary,  the  Lord  has  promised,  by 
the  same  prophet,  that  He  will  hear  the  prayers  of 
those  who  truly  amend  their  lives.      "Loose  the 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  181 

bands  of  wickedness  ;    undo  the  bundles  that  op- 
press  Then  shalt  thou  call,  and  the 

Lord  shall  hear  ;  thou  shalt  cry,  and  He  shall  say  : 
Here  I  am,"  (Isai.  lviii.),  that  is  to  help  you.  By 
the  command  of  God,  the  Prophet  Jonas  had  to  an- 
nounce to  the  Ninivites  that  within  forty  days  their 
city  would  be  destroyed.  The  Ninivites  at  once 
commenced  to  pray  to  God  and  ask  His  pardon. 
God  heard  their  prayers.  Why  ?  Because  they 
repented  of  their  sins,  did  penance  for  them  and 
amended  their  lives.  The  prayers  of  a  true  and 
sincere  repentant,  are  acceptable  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  heard  by  Him.  Hence,  according  to  the 
advice  of  St.  Paul,  we  must  endeavor  always  to  pray 
to  God  with  a  contrite  heart.  "  I  will,  therefore, 
that  men  pray  in  every  place,  lifting  up  pure 
hands."  (I.  Tim.  ii.  8.)  When  are  our  hearts 
pure?  "  If  they  are  free  of  sin,"  says  St.  Ambrose. 
From  what  has  been  said,  the  sinner  should, 
however,  not  infer  that,  being  a  sinner  and  in  the 
disgrace  of  God,  his  prayer  could  not  be  acceptable 
to  God,  and  therefore  abandon  it.  No,  it  would  be 
entirely  wrong  for  a  sinner  to  argue  thus.  For  as 
long  as  he  does  not  sin  unto  death,  that  is,  if  he 
has  not  the  will  to  live  and  die  in  sin,  but  desires 
to  amend  his  life,  and  prays  for  it,  God  will  listen 
to  bii  prayer,  and  hear  it,  if  he  perseveres  in  it. 
11  There  are  others,"  says  St.  Alphonsus,  "  who  sin 
through  frailty,  or  by  the  violence  of  some  great 
10* 


182  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

passion,  and  who  groan  under  the  yoke  of  the 
enemy,  and  who  desire  to  break  these  chains  of 
death  and  to  escape  from  their  miserable  slavery, 
let  them  ask  the  assistance  of  God;  for  their  pray- 
er, if  persevered  in,  will  certainly  be  heard,  for 
Jesus  Christ  has  said:  "  Every  one  that  asks  re- 
ceives, and  he  who  seeks  grace  finds  it."  (Math, 
vii.  8.)  His  prayer,  it  is  true,  is  not  heard  on  ac- 
count of  his  meritorious  works,  which  he  does  not 
possess,  but  is  heard  through  the  merits  and  prom- 
ises of  Jesus  Christ,  Who  has  declared  to  hear 
every  one  that  asks.  lc  Therefore,  when  we  pray," 
says  St.  Thomas,  "  it  is  not  necessary  to  be  friends 
of  God,  in  order  to  obtain  the  grace  we  ask  ;  for 
prayer  itself  restores  His  friendship  to  us."  Hence, 
St.  Bernard  says  :  "  The  desire  of  the  sinner  to  es- 
cape from  sin  is  a  gift  which  is  certainly  given  by 
no  other  than  God  Himself,  Who  most  undoubtedly 
would  not  give  this  holy  desire  to  the  sinner  unless 
He  intended  to  hear  him."  Witness  the  publican 
in  the  Gospel,  who  went  into  the  temple  to  pray : 
"  And  the  publican  standing  afar  off  would  not  so 
much  as  lift  up  his  eyes  towards  heaven  ;  but  struck 
his  breast,  saying  :  0  God,  be  merciful  to  me  a  sin- 
ner. I  say  to  you,  this  man  went  down  into  his 
house  justified."     (Luke  viii.  13-14.) 

But  the  sinner  may  say,  I  have  no  sorrow  for  my 
sins,  and  do  not  desire  to  amend  my  life,  therefore, 
according  to  what  you  have  said,  God  will  not  hear 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  183 

my  prayer,  consequently  I  may  abandon  it  alto- 
gether. I  answer,  by  no  means  relinquish  it  ;  you 
must^not,  on  this  account,  give  up  your  prayer, 
although  God  will  not  hear  you  as  long  as  you  per- 
severe in  these  dispositions  of  heart  ;  yet,  for  the 
sake  of  your  prayer,  God  spares  you,  waiting  pa- 
tiently for  your  conversion.  "  Hence  no  sinner," 
says  St.  Alphonsus,  "should  ever  give  up  his 
prayer,  as  otherwise  he  would  be  lost  forever.  God 
would  sooner  send  sinners  to  hell,  if  they  ceased  to 
pray,  yet,  on  account  of  their  perseverance  in 
prayer,  He  still  spares  them."  But  let  him  who  has 
no  sorrow  for  his  sins,  no  desire  for  the  amendment 
of  his  life,  ask  of  God  this  sorrow  and  grace  of  a 
thorough  conversion,  and  let  him  persevere  in  ask- 
ing for  it,  if  he  does,  he  may  rest  assured  that  God 
will  finally  enlighten  his  mind  by  making  him 
understand  the  miserable  state  in  which  he  is  liv- 
ing, and  touch  his  heart  with  sorrow  for  it,  and 
also  strengthen  his  will  to  make  serious  efforts  to 
rise  from  it.  Another  will  say,  I  have  not  only  no 
sorrow  for  my  sins,  but  I  have  not  even  the  least 
desire  to  ask  God's  grace  to  be  sorry  for  them. 
How  can  I,  then,  pray,  not  having  the  least  desire 
to  obtain  anything?  This,  I  must  confess,  is  a 
pitiable  but  not  a  desperate  state,  for,  if  you  will 
pray  with  perseverance,  God  will  give  you  the  de- 
sire to  pray  for  the  grace  of  contrition.  Has  He 
not  declared :     "I   desire    not    the   death   of    the 


184  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

wicked,  but  that  he  be  converted  and  live  V*  God 
has  the  greatest  desire  to  see  all  sinners  saved,  and 
is  ready  at  any  time  to  give  them  the  graces  neces- 
sary for  their  salvation  ;  but  He  wishes  that  they 
should  pray  for  every  good  thought  and  desire,  and 
for  efficacious  grace  to  put  their  good  desires  into 
execution.  Let  such  a  sinner  pray  :  "  Lord,  give 
me  a  true  desire  to  pray  to  Thee  for  my  salvation  ;" 
let  him  persevere  in  thus  praying,  and  then  let  him 
rest  assured  that  he  will  not  be  lost.  The  conver- 
sion of  King  Manasses  is  a  most  striking  proof  of 
this  truth.  Manasses  was  twelve  years  old  when 
his  father  died.  He  succeeded  him  on  the  throne, 
but  not  in  his  piety  and  fear  of  the  Lord.  As  pious 
as  the  father  was,  so  impious  was  the  son  towards 
God  and  His  people.  He  introduced  again  all  the 
abominations  of  the  Gentiles  which  the  Lord  had 
extirpated  from  among  the  children  of  Israel  ;  he 
apostatized  from  the  Lord  ;  he  introduced  again 
and  encouraged  idolatry  ;  even  in  the  temple  of  the 
Lord  he  erected  an  altar  to  Baal  ;  he  introduced 
into  the  temple  of  the  true  God  such  abominations 
as  were  never  heard  of  before,  and  which  are  too 
shameful  to  relate.  To  crown  his  impiety,  he  made 
his  son  pass  through  fire  in  honor  of  Moloch  ;  used 
divination,  observed  omens,  appointed  pythons  and 
multiplied  soothsayers  to  do  evil  before  the  Lord 
and  to  provoke  Him.  (IV  Kings,  xxi.  1-7.)  The 
Lord  often  warned  him  by  His  prophets,  but  in 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  185 

vain.  At  last  "  the  Lord  spoke  to  His  prophets, 
saving :  Because  Manasses,  king  of  Juda,  hath 
-done  these  most  wicked  ahominations,  beyond  all 
that  the  Amorrhites  did  before  him,  and  hath  made 
Juda  also  to  sin  with  his  filthy  doings,  therefore, 
thus  saith  the  Lord  the  God  of  Israel :  Behold,  I 
will  bring  on  evils  upon  Jerusalem  and  Juda,  that 
whosoever  shall  hear  of  them  both  his  ears  shall 
tingle.  I  will  stretch  over  Jerusalem  the  line  of 
Samaria  and  the  weight  of  the  house  of  Achab, 
and  I  will  eiFace  Jerusalem,  as  tables  are  wont  to 
be  effaced  .  .  .  and  I  will  deliver  them  into 
the  hands  of  their  enemies,  and  they  shall  become  a 
prey  and  a  spoil  to  all  their  enemies."  (Vers.  10- 
14.)  Manasses,  instead  of  entering  into  himself, 
added  cruelty  to  idolatry.  He  shed  so  much  inno- 
cent blood  that,  to  use  the  words  of  Holy  Writ, 
"  he  rilled  Jerusalem  up  to  the  mouth."  (Verse 
16.)  According  to  Josephus  (Antt.  x.  31),  "  he 
went,  in  his  contempt  for  God,  so  far  as  to  kill  all 
the  just  of  the  children  of  Israel,  not  sparing  even 
the  prophets,  but  taking  away  their  lives  day  by 
day,  so  that  streams  of  blood  were  flowing  through 
the  streets  of  Jerusalem."  Now,  do  you  think  such 
an  impious  wretch  could  be  converted?  Oh,  won- 
derful power  of  prayer  !  So  great  is  thy  efficacy  with 
God,  that  a  man,  should  he  be  ever  so  impious  and 
perverse,  will  not  fail  to  obtain  forgiveness  of  God 
if  he  prays  for  it  with  a  sincere  heart.     "  And  the 


186  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

Lord,"  says  Holy  Writ,  "  brought  upon  Jerusalem 
the  captains  of  the  army  of  the  king  of  the  Assy- 
rians, and  they  took  Manasses  and  carried  him, 
hound  with  chains  and  fetters,  to  Babylon.  In 
this  great  distress  and  affliction,  he  entered  into 
himself,  and  he  prayed  to  the  Lord  his  God  and  did 
penance  exceedingly  before  the  God  of  his  fathers, 
and  he  entreated  Him  and  he  besought  Him  earn- 
estly ;  and  the  Lord  heard  his  prayer  and  brought 
him  again  to  Jerusalem  unto  his  kingdom.  From 
that  time  forward  he  endeavored  to  serve  the  Lord 
the  more  fervently  the  more  grievously  he  had  of- 
fended Him.  He  abolished  idolatry,  destroyed  the 
temples,  altars,  groves  on  the  high  places  put  up 
in  honor  of  heathenish  deities  ;  repaired  the  altar  of 
Jehova,  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  and  sacrificed 
upon  it  victims  and  peace  offerings  and  offerings  of 
praise,  and  he  commanded  Juda  to  serve  the  Lord 
the  God  of  Israel."     (II  Paral.  33.) 

I  again  repeat  what  I  have  said  elsewhere  :  How 
great  will  be  the  pain  and  misery  of  the  damned, 
seeing  that  they  might  have  been  saved  so  easily, 
provided  tbey  had  prayed  to  God  for  their  salva- 
tion. How  true  is  it  not  what  St.  Alphonsus  says  : 
"  All  spiritual  writers  in  their  books,  all  preachers 
in  their  sermons,  all  confessors  in  their  instructions 
to  their  penitents  should  not  inculcate  anything 
more  strongly  than  continual  prayer  ;  they  should 
always  admonish,  exclaim,  and  continually  repeat: 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  187 

pray,  pray,  never  cease  to  pray,  for  if  you  pray 
your  salvation  will  be  secure ;  but  if  you  leave  off 
praying  your  damnation  will  be  certain.  All 
preachers  and  directors  ought  to  do  this,  because, 
according  to  the  opinion  of  every  Catholic  school, 
there  is  no  doubt  of  this  truth  that  he  who  prays 
obtains  grace  and  is  saved  ;  but  those  who  practise 
it  are  too  few,  and  this  is  why  so  few  are  saved." 
(Chap.  iv.  on  Prayer.) 


V. — Our  Prayer  must  be  United  with  Forgiveness 
of  Injuries. 

"  And  when  you  shall  stand  to  pray,  forgive  if 
you  have  aught  against  any  man."  (Mark  xi.  25.) 
l:  Leave  thy  offering  before  the  Altar,  and  go  first  to 
be  reconciled  to  thy  brother,  and  then  coming  thou 
Shalt  offer  thy  gift."     (Matt.  v.  23.) 

In  these  words  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  teaches  us 
that  our  prayer  will  not  please  His  heavenly  Father, 
nor  be  heard  by  Him  so  long  as  we  entertain  in  our 
hearts  feelings  of  dislike  towards  any  of  our  fellow- 
If  you  have  recourse  to  prayer,  He  says,  and 
at  the  same  time  have  aught  against  any  man,  go 
first  and  be  reconciled  to  your  brother,  or  at  least 
forgive  him  from  the  bottom  of  your  heart,  and  then 
come  and  offer  up  your  prayers,  otherwise  I  will  not 
even  listen  to  vou.     He  has  made  everv  man  his 


188  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

representative  on  earth  by  creating  him  according 
to  His  own  image  and  likeness  ;  He  has  redeemed 
all  men  with  His  most  precious  Blood  ;  He  has, 
therefore  declared  that  whatever  we  do  to  the  least 
of  our  fellow-men  for  His  sake  we  do  to  Him. 
Now,  by  commanding  us  to  love  our  enemies,  to  do 
good  to  those  that  hate  us,  and  to  pray  for  those 
that  persecute  and  calumniate  us,  (Matt.  v.  44.) 
He  asks  of  us  to  give  to  Him  in  the  person  of  His 
representatives  that  which  we  can  give  so  easily. 
It  would  be  great  presumption  to  ask  His  gifts  and 
favors  without  being  willing  on  our  part,  to  give 
Him  what  He  requires  of  us  in  all  justice.  To  re- 
fuse this  request  of  our  Lord  would,  indeed,  on  our 
part,  be  great  injustice.  We  ask  of  Him  the  great- 
est gifts,  such  as  the  pardon  of  innumerable  and 
most  grievous  offences,  final  perseverance,  deliver- 
ance from  hell,  everlasting  glory,  and  so  many 
other  countless  favors  for  both  body  and  soul. 
What  He  asks  of  us  is  little  or  nothing  compared 
with  His  graces. 

I  will  give  you  what  I  can,  says  He,  if  you  give 
Me  what  you  can.  If  you  will  not,  neither  am  I 
bound  to  give  anything  to  you.  Hence,  I  have 
said,  "  that  if  two  of  you  shall  consent  upon  earth 
concerning  anything  whatsoever  they  shall  ask,  it 
shall  be  done  to  them  by  my  Father,  Who  is  in 
heaven."  (Matt,  xviii.  19.)  Our  Saviour  means 
here  to  say  that  your  heavenly  Father  is  so  much 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  189 

pleased  with  the  prayers  of  those  who  have  no  feel- 
ings of  hatred  towards  one  another,  that  He  will 
grant  to  them  whatsoever  they  ask  of  Him  ;  but  if, 
on  the  contrary,  they  entertain  such  feelings,  their 
prayer  will  not  be  heard.  "  As  singing  is  not 
pleasing  nor  attractive  to  any  one  if  the  voices  are 
not  in  perfect  harmony,  so  neither,"  says  Origen, 
"  will  the  prayers  of  Christian  congregations  give 
any  pleasure  to  God  if  they  be  not  of  one  heart  and 
one  soul,  nor  will  He  hear  their  prayer." 

We  must,  then,  whenever  we  betake  ourselves  to 
prayer,  banish  from  our  hearts  all  willful  enmity, 
hatred,  rancor,  and  all  uncharitable  sentiments 
which  may  arise  in  our  soul,  by  saying  a  short  but 
fervent  prayer  for  all  those  towards  whom  such  feel- 
ings arise,  or  by  offering  up  to  God  for  each  one  of 
them  the  precious  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  all 
His  merits,  in  union  with  those  of  His  blessed  Mo- 
ther, and  of  all  His  Saints. 

To  pray  for  those  who  wish  us  evil  is  an  ex- 
tremely difficult  act,  and  one  of  the  most  heroic 
charity.  It  is  an  act  free  of  self-love  and  self-in- 
terest, which  is  not  only  counselled  but  even  com- 
manded by  our  Lord.  (Matt.  v.  44.)  The  insults, 
calumnies,  and  persecutions  of  our  enemies,  relate 
directly  to  our  own  person,  wherefore,  if  we  forgive, 
nay,  even  beg  God  also  to  forgive  our  enemies,  we 
give  up  our  claim  to  our  right  and  honor,  thus 
raising  ourselves  to  the  great  dignity  of  true  chil- 
17 


190  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

dren  of  God,  nay  even  to  an  unspeakably  sublime  re- 
semblance to  His  divinity,  according  to  what  Jesus 
Christ  says:  "If  you  pray  for  those  who  hate,  ca- 
lumniate and  persecute  you,  you  will  be  children 
of  your  Father,  Who  is  in  heaven,  Who  maketh 
His  sun  to  rise  upon  the  good  and  bad,  and  raineth 
upon  the  just  and  the  unjust;*'  (Matt.  v.  45,)  to 
whom  there  is  nothing  more  peculiar,  nothing  more 
honorable  than  to  have  mercy  and  to  spare ;  to  do 
good  to  all  his  enemies,  converting  them  to  be  His 
friends,  His  children  and  heirs  of  His  everlasting 
glory. 

Now,  by  imitating  His  goodness  in  a  point  most 
averse  to  our  nature,  we  give  Him  the  greatest 
glory,  and  do  such  violence  to  His  tender  and 
meek  Heart  as  to  cause  it  not  only  to  forgive  the 
sin  of  our  enemies,  but  even  to  force  it  to  grant  all 
our  prayers.  He  does  so  because  He  wishes  to  be 
far  more  indulgent,  far  more  merciful,  and  far  more 
liberal  than  it  is  possible  for  us  ever  to  be.  Holy 
Scripture,  and  the  lives  of  the  Saints,  furnish  us 
with  most  striking  examples  in  proof  of  this  great 
and  most  consoling  truth. 

The  greatest  persecutor  of  St.  Stephen  was  St. 
Paul  the  Apostle  before  his  conversion,  for,  accord- 
ing to  St.  Augustine,  he  threw  stones  at  him  by  the 
hands  of  all  those  whose  clothes  he  was  guarding. 
What  made  him  from  being  a  persecutor  of  the 
Church,  become  her  greatest  Apostle  and  Doctor? 


QUALITIES   OF    PRAYER.  199 

do  His  will  perfectly,  that  He  not  only  grants  their 
prayers,  hut  even  anticipates  them.  Tauler  relates 
(serin.  1,  de  Circumcis.)  of  a  pions  virgin,  whose 
spiritual  director  he  was,  that  many  people  would 
come  and  recommend  their  affairs  to  her  prayers. 
She  always  promised  to  pray  for  them,  but  would 
often  forget  to  do  so.  Nevertheless,  the  wishes  of 
those  who  had  recommended  themselves  to  her 
prayers  would  be  fulfilled.  Now,  these  persons 
would  come  and  thank  her,  feeling  persuaded  that 
through  her  prayers  God  had  helped  them.  She 
would  blush  and  confess  that  although  she  had  in- 
tended to  pray  for  them,  she  had  forgotten  to  do  so. 
Wishing  to  know  the  reason  why  our  Lord  blessed 
all  those  who  recommended  themselves  to  her 
prayers,  she  said  to  Him:  "  Why,  0- Lord,  dost 
Thou  bless  all  those  who  recommend  themselves  to 
my  prayers,  notwithstanding  my  forgetfulness  to 
recommend  them?"  Our  Lord  answered  her,  "  My 
daughter,  from  that  very  day  on  which  you  gave  up 
your  will,  in  order  always  to  do  Mine,  I  gave  up 
Mine  to  do  yours,  wherefore  I  even  comply  with  the 
pious  intentions  which  you  forget  to  carry  out." 
Thus  it  is  true  what  the  Lord  has  promised  by 
\  the  Prophet  Isaias,  (chap.  lxv.  24.)  "  And  it  shall 
ie  to  pass  that  before  they  call  I  will  hear." 
Would  to  God  that  all  men  could  understand  what 
has  just  been  said,  and  practise  it  most  faithfully. 
H<>\\     happy    would    they    make    themselves   and 


200  ON    THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

others.  Let  us  often  say  the  following  prayer  of 
the  Church,  or  one  similar  to  it :  "  Almighty,  eter- 
nal God,  give  us  an  increase  of  Faith,  Hope  and 
Charity,  and  in  order  that  we  may  deserve  to  obtain 
what  Thou  promisest,  make  us  love  what  Thou  com- 
mandest" 


VII. — Our  Prayer  must  be  Confident. 

According  to  the  Apostle  St.  James,  one  of  the 
principal  defects  of  prayer  is  a  want  of  faith  or  a 
want  of  confidence  in  God  that  He  will  hear  our 
prayer.  "  Let  him  who  wavereth,  that  is  he  who  has 
no  confidence  in  the  Lord,  not  think  that  when  he 
prays  he  will  receive  anything  of  Him/'  says  the 
Apostle.  "A  diffident  prayer,"  says  St.  Bernard, 
"  cannot  enter  into  heaven,  because  immoderate 
fear  restrains  the  soul  so  much,  that  when  it  prays 
it  not  only  has  no  courage  to  raise  itself  to  heaven,, 
but  it  dares  not  even  so  much  as  stir.  Now  it  hopes 
to  be  heard,  then  it  doubts,  saying  to  itself:  UI 
shall  obtain  what  I  ask  ;  no,  I  shall  not.  God  will 
grant  what  I  pray  for  ;  no,  He  will  not  do  so,  or  He 
will  do  so  when  too  late.  He  will  give  it  sparingly. 
I  deserve  to  be  heard  ;  no,  I  do  not  deserve  it.  I 
am  worthy  of  it ;  no,  I  am  unworthy  of  it.  God  is 
merciful  and  liberal,  but  He  is  a  just  God.  His 
mercy  is  great,  but  my  sins  are  too  numerous  and 
too  great  to  be  heard."     Hence,  it  happens  that  in 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  201 

this  fluctuation  of  thoughts  and  doubts,  he  at  one 
time  prays  to  God  with  patience,  then  complains 
of  and  murmurs  against  Him  with  impatience ; 
again,  he  is  resolved  to  wait  until  God  is  pleased  to 
hear  him  ;  at  another  time  he  loses  courage  and 
feels  angry,  because  he  is  not  heard  at  once. 
Hence,  he  is,  as  St.  James  says,  "  like  the  waves  of 
the  sea,  which  are  moved  and  carried  about  by  the 
wind/''  giving  himself  up  to  these  thoughts  and 
doubts  without  making  any  serious  effort  to  combat 
them  ;  especially  so  when  he  meets  with  any  trou- 
ble, adversity,  cross  or  the  like.  Thus  Moses  began 
to  doubt,  on  account  of  the  unworthiness  of  the  re- 
bellious Jews,  saying,  "  Hear  ye  rebellious  and  in- 
credulous, can  we  bring  you  forth  water  out  of  this 
rock."  (Numbers  xx.  10.)  In  punishment  for  his 
want  of  confidence,  he  had  to  die  in  the  desert. 
And  the  Lord  said  to  Moses:  "Because  you  have 
not  believed  Me,  you  shall  not  bring  this  people 
into  the  land  which  I  will  give  them."  St.  Peter 
also,  when  walking  upon  the  water  at  the  com- 
mand of  Jesus,  and  perceiving  the  great  wind,  com- 
menced to  doubt  and  lose  confidence  in  His  word. 
Our  Lord  reproached  him  for  it,  saying  :  "0  thou 
Of  little  faith,  why  didst  thou  doubt  ?"  (Matt.  xiv. 
31.)  Hence,  if  we  wish  to  be  heard  in  prayer,  we 
must,  as  the  Apostle  says,  "pray  with  faith." 
Bat  this  faith  to  be  good  must  have  three  qualities. 
First,  it  most  be  right  faith  in  its  true  meaning,, 
18 


202  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

free  from  hesitation  or  doubt,  as  otherwise  it  would 
be  infidelity  or  heresy  ;  secondly,  it  includes  confi- 
dence, or  certain,  firm  hope,  free  from  diffidence  or 
despair  ;  and  thirdly,  it  comprises  a  firm  conviction 
of  obtaining  what  we  ask,  excluding  all  wavering, 
or  the  fear  and  belief  of  not  obtaining  what  we  ask. 
First.  The  Apostle  St.  James  requires,  for  prayer, 
right  faith  in  its  true  bearing,  not  only  in  general, 
that  is  to  say,  faith  in  God's  omnipotence,  provi- 
dence, munificence,  veracity,  paternal  care  and  love 
for  us  all  ;  that  as  God,  He  is  able,  and  as  Father, 
inclined  to  do  good  to  us,  His  children  ;  but  also  in 
particular,  that  is,  that  He  will  give  us  what  we  ask, 
provided  it  be  not  detrimental  to  us.  This  is  the 
very  promise  of  Him  Who  is  Truth  itself,  and  can 
neither  deceive  nor  be  deceived:  "  And  all  things 
whatsoever  you  shall  ask  in  prayer  believing  you 
shall  receive."  (Math.  xxi.  22,  Mark  xi.  23,  and 
elsewhere.)  We  believe  with  a  divine  faith  that 
God  is  faithful  to  His  promises,  giving  us  what  we 
ask  of  Him  in  prayer,  and  as  it  is  impossible  for 
God  to  deny  Himself,  so  in  like  manner  is  it  impos- 
sible for  Him  to  break  His  promises.  This  faith 
our  Lord  often  required  of  those  who  asked  of  Him 
their  health  or  the  like.  To  the  blind,  for  instance, 
He  said  :  "  Do  you  believe  that  I  can  do  this  unto 
you?"  And  when  they  said:  "  Yea,  Lord,"  He 
said  to  them  :  i(  According  to  your  faith,  be  it  done 
unto  you  :  And  their  eyes  were  opened."  (Math, 
xxviii.  29.) 


QUALITIES  OF   PRAYER.  203 

Secondly.  This  faith  produces  hope  and  confidence, 
on  which  account  St.  Paul  calls  it  "the  substance 
of  things  to  be  hoped  for,"  (Heb.  xi.  1),  because 
faith,  in  the  omnipotence  and  veracity  of  God,  is 
the  strongest  foundation  and  ground-pillar  of  hope, 
and  of  all  things  to  be  hoped  for.  For  this  reason, 
St.  Augustine  says  :  "If  this  faith  is  gone,  prayer 
is  gone  with  it."  (Serin.  36,  de  verbo  Dom.)  It 
is  for  this  very  reason  that  the  Apostle  said,  when 
exhorting  to  prayer :  "Whosoever  shall  call  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved"  (Rom.  x. 
13),  thus  giving  us  to  understand  that  prayer 
necessarily  supposes,  not  only  true  faith,  but  also 
hope,  by  a  natural  consequence,  because  hope  is  the 
nurse  of  prayer.  As  a  river  will  cease  to  flow  if 
its  source  be  dried  up,  so,  in  like  manner  there  can 
be  no  longer  any  prayer,  if  its  source,  that  is,  hope 
and  confidence  have  fled.  This  confidence  was 
likewise  demanded  by  Jesus  Christ,  when  He  said  to 
the  man  sick  of  the  palsy  :  "  Be  of  good  heart,  son, 
thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee."  (Math.  ix.  2.)  And 
again  to  the  woman  :  "  Be  of  good  heart,  daughter, 
thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole,"  (ver.  xxii.),  from 
which  it  is  evident  that  Jesus  Christ  requires  not 
only  faith,  but  confidence,  proceeding  from  faith. 
Hence,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  says  :  "  Prayer  derives 
its  efficacy  of  meriting  from  charity,  but  its  efficacy 
of  obtaining  (impetrating)  from  faith  and  confi- 
dence," (2,  2,  9,  83,  Art.  15  ad  3),  as  the  Apostle 
St.  James  said. 


204  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

Thirdly.  As  faith  produces  hope  and  confidence, 
so  in  like  manner  do  these  produce  a  certain  per- 
suasion in  the  mind,  that  God  will  grant  what  we 
ask  of  Him.  Now,  the  greater  the  hope  and  the 
confidence  of  the  heart,  the  stronger  will  be  this 
persuasion  in  the  understanding  to  obtain  the  grant 
of  our  prayer. 

This  three-fold  faith  makes  prayer  efficacious.  It 
is,  indeed,  a  great  gift  of  the  Lord  to  a  soul,  and 
almost  a  certain  sign  that  He  will  hear  its  prayer, 
even  though  a  miracle  should  be  necessary  to  that 
effect.  This  is  that  wonder-working  faith,  that  is, 
faith  joined  to  a  firm  confidence  in  God's  aid  for  the 
working  of  the  miracle.  This  confidence  is  pro- 
duced by  an  interior  impulse  of  the  grace  of  God, 
Who  animates  the  Thaumaturgus  (the  performer  of 
the  miracle),  promising  him,  as  it  were,  His  assist- 
ance for  the  miracle  which  he  intends  to  work.  Of 
this  confidence  Jesus  Christ  says  :  "  Amen  I  say  to 
you,  if  you  shall  have  faith  and  stagger  not,  not 
only  this  of  the  fig-tree  shall  you  do,  but  also  if 
you  shall  say  to  this  mountain,  take  up  and  cast 
thyself  into  the  sea,  it  shall  be  done."  "  And  all 
things  whatsoever  you  shall  shall  ask  in  prayer,  be- 
lieving, you  shall  receive."     (Math.  xxi.  21-22.) 

Now,  in  order  to  conceive  great  confidence,  to  in- 
crease it,  and  to  become  strengthened  and  confirmed 
in  it,  we  must  consider  what  God  is  in  relation  to 
us,  and  what  we  are  in  relation  to  Him. 


QUALITIES    OF    PRAYER.  205 

First.  What  is  God  in  relation  to  us?  No  one 
could  tell  this  better  than  Jesus  Christ,  His  well- 
beloved  Son.  "  No  one,"  said  He,  "  knoweth 
wlio  the  Father  is  but  the  Son."  (Luke  x.  22.) 
Now,  He  has  told  us  in  distinct  language,  that 
"  God  is  our  Father."  "Thus,  therefore,  shall 
you  pray  :  '  Our  Father  Who  art  in  heaven.'  " 
(Matt.  vi.  9.)  "God  is  our  Father,"  says  Jesus 
Christ.  But  what  kind  of  a  Father  is  He  ?  He  is 
a  Father  Whose  liberality  surpasses  all  human 
understanding.  What  are  we  to  consider  in  a 
father  ?  It  is  the  degree  of  fondness  with  which  he 
communicates  himself  and  all  his  goods.,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  his  children.  The  greater  this  fond- 
ness is  the  greater  will  be  his  liberality.  Now, 
God  being  our  Father,  there  is  in  Him  as  such,  un- 
bounded fondness  of  communicating  Himself.  This 
infinite  desire  of  communicating  Himself  is  essen- 
tial to  God's  nature,  for  God  is  infinite  love  ;  love, 
however,  culminates  in  the  reproduction  of  itself, 
that  is,  in  generating  its  own  image.  Hence  faith 
teaches  us  that  God  is  Father,  and  as  such,  eter- 
nally generates  another  Himself  (Self),  Who  is 
His  Son,  His  most  perfect  Image  ;  He,  together 
with  His  Son,  eternally  generates  a  third  Himself 
(Self),  proceeding  from  both,  Who  is  their  recipro- 
cal love — the  Holy  Ghost ;  so  that  the  one  and  the 
same  Divine  Essence  is  quite  the  same  in  each  of 
the  three  Divine  Persons.  But,  as  there  can  be  no 
18* 


206  ON   THE  CONDITIONS  AND 

multiplication  of  the  infinite  simple  Divine  Es- 
sence, the  infinite  love  which  God  has  to  Himself 
prompted  Him  to  turn  to  what  is  not  Himself,  that 
is  to  say,  to  the  creation  of  things,  which  are  by 
Him,  in  Him,  through  Him,  and  yet  are  not  Him- 
self, that  He  might  lavish  upon  them  His  perfec- 
tions to  a  certain  degree,  but  more  especially  so 
upon  rational  creatures,  Angels  and  men,  without 
ever  diminishing  Himself  in  the  least,  no  matter 
how  much  He  bestows  upon  them,  and  making 
them,  at  the  same  time,  partake  of  His  plenitude. 
As  the  sun,  by  sending  forth  its  rays,  exercises  its 
influence  over  all  nature,  thus  illuminating,  warm- 
ing and  vivifying  it,  so  God,  in  like  manner,  by 
sending  forth  the  rays  of  His  goodness  upon  all 
creatures,  especially  upon  Angels  and  men,  commu- 
nicates Himself  to  them,  illumining  them  by  the 
light  of  His  wisdom,  that  He  may  thereby  inflame 
them  with  love  of  Himself,  and  vivify  them  by  His 
grace  and  glory,  and  that  they,  too,  in  their  turn, 
may  impart  it  to  others. 

St.  Dionysius  says  of  Divine  love  :  "  That  it  is  a 
power  moving  and  drawing  upwards  to  God,  Who 
alone  is  good  and  perfect  by  Himself.' '  We  have 
evident  proofs  and  effects  of  this  love,  beneficence 
and  communion  in  the  Incarnation  of  the  Divine 
Word,  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  and  saving  man- 
kind, in  His  Preaching,  His  Miracles,  His  Passion, 
His  Death  ;  in  the  sending  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  in 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  207 

the  Holy  Sacraments,  especially  that  of  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  in  which  He  may  he  said  to  have  ex- 
hausted His  Omnipotence,  His  Wisdom  and  His 
Love  for  man,  as  well  as  in  His  most  wonderful 
care  for  His  Church  in  general,  and  for  each  faith- 
ful soul  in  particular. 

Again,  in  the  justification  and  sanctification  of 
every  one,  God  not  only  communicates  Himself  to 
the  soul  hy  grace  and  charity,  and  other  virtues, 
hut  also  hy  Himself,  giving,  in  reality,  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  along  with  Him  the  other  Divine  Per- 
sons, according  to  St.  Paul,  writing  to  the  Komans 
(v.  50)  :  "  The  charity  of  God  is  poured  forth  in 
our  hearts  hy  the  Holy  Ghost,  Who  is  given  to  us  ;,} 
and,  "If  any  one  love  Me,  he  will  keep  My  word, 
and  My  Father  will  love  him,  and  We  will  come  to 
him  and  will  make  Our  abode  with  him."  (John 
xiv.  23.)  By  thus  communicating  Himself,  He 
raises  the  just  man  to  Himself,  transforming  him 
into  Himself,  thus  making  him,  as  it  were,  divine, 
especially  him  who  gives  himself  up  to  Him  wholly 
and  entirely,  and  without  reserve.  Divine  love  en- 
raptures the  loving  soul,  raising  it  above  itself  in 
order  to  transmute  it  into  the  beloved,  and  to  unite 
it  to  Him  most  intimately  ;  to  make  it  become  one 
with  Him,  so  that  being,  as  it  were,  embodied  in 
Him,  it  may  live,  feel  and  rejoice  solely  in  Him 
alone.  Thus  the  soul  that  truly  loves  God  becomes 
entirely  destitute  of  itself,  passing  over  into  God 


208  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

and  dissolving,  so  to  speak,  into  Him.  It  thinks, 
understands,  feels  only  for  God,  desiring,  seeking 
and  rejoicing  in  His  goods  alone.  He  who  thus 
adheres  to  God  becomes  but  one  spirit  with  Him, 
divesting  himself  entirely  of  self  and  putting  on 
God,  as  if  there  were  a  transformation  into  the 
Divine  Nature.  Hence  all  his  thoughts  and  affec- 
tions are  in  God,  he  being  of  those  for  whom  Christ 
asked  when  He  prayed  :  "  Holy  Father,  keep  them 
in  Thy  name  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me,  that  they 
may  be  one  as  We  also  are  One"  (John  xvii.  11)  ; 
and  (vers.  21),  "That,  they  all  may  be  one,  as 
Thou,  Father,  in  Me,  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also 
may  be  one  in  Us."  It  must  be  observed  that  this 
communication  and  overflow  of  God's  beneficence  is 
prodigious  and  most  wonderful,  for  five  reasons  : 

First.  On  account  of  the  greatness  and  majesty 
of  the  Lover  and  Giver  ;  for  what  can  be  greater 
or  more  sublime  than  God  ? 

Secondly.  On  account  of  the  condition  of  those 
to  whom  He  communicates  Himself  with  all  His 
goods  ;  considered  in  their  nature,  they  are  men, 
the  lowest  of  rational  beings  ;  considered  in  the 
quality  of  their  soul,  they  are  proud,  ungrateful, 
carnal  sinners,  incapable  of  doing  any  good,  and 
prone  to  every  evil ;  considered  in  the  quality  of 
their  body,  they  are  but  mortal,  corrupt,  vile  and 
disgusting  creatures,  destined  to  be  soon  the  food  of 
worms.     Thus  did  the  Psalmist  exclaim  with  truth  : 


£*LiFOftKV£, 


QUALITIES  OF   PRAYER.  209 

••  What  is  man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him,  or 
the  son  of  man,  that  Thou  visitest  him."  (Ps. 
nii.  5.) 

Thirdly.  On  account  of  the  manifold  and  pro- 
digious goods  which  He  partly  confers  on  them  and 
partly  offers  them.  These  are  a  rational  soul,  cre- 
ated according  to  His  own  image  and  likeness,  His 
grace,  the  promise  of  glory,  the  protection  of  His 
Angels,  the  whole  visible  world,  and  finally,  His 
•own  well-beloved  Son.  "  For  God  so  loved  the 
world  as  to  give  His  only  begotten  Son  ;  that  who- 
soever believeth  in  Him  may  not  perish,  but  may 
have  life  everlasting."     (John  iii.  16). 

Fourthly.  On  account  of  the  end  for  which  He 
■confers  benefits  ;  namely,  for  the  happiness  of  man, 
not  for  His  own  happiness  ;  for  God  does  not  expect 
to  receive  any  gain  or  advantage  from  man. 

Fifthly.  On  account  of  the  manner  in  which  He 
•communicates  and  bestows  Himself,  which  is  also 
manifold. 

First.  Because  it  is  peculiar  to  the  divine  benig- 
nity to  lower  itself  to  what  is  vile  and  despicable, 
to  heal  what  is  ailing,  to  seek  what  is  rejected,  to 
exalt  what  is  humble,  and  to  pour  out  His  riches 
and  His  assistance  where  they  are  most  needed. 

Secondly.  This  feature  of  the  divine  benignity 
and  care  shines  forth  most  strikingly  and  touch- 
in  the  example  of  our  first  parents.  When 
you  hear  them  sharply  reproved  for  having  violated 


210  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

the  command  of  God  ;  when  you  hear  their  con- 
demnation pronounced  in  this  awful  sentence  : 
"  Cursed  is  the  earth  in  thy  work  :  with  labor  and 
toil  shalt  thou  eat  thereof  all  the  days  of  thy  life  : 
thorns  and  thistles  shall  it  bring  forth  to  thee  ;  and 
thou  shalt  eat  the  herbs  of  the  earth  ;"  (Gen.  iii. 
17-18)  when  you  see  them  driven  out  of  Paradise  ; 
when  you  read  that,  to  extinguish  all  hope  of  re- 
turn, a  fiery  cherub  was  placed  at  the  entrance, 
"brandishing  a  flaming  sword,  turning  every 
wav;"  (Gen.  iii.  23,  24),  when  you  know  that  to 
avenge  the  injury  done  Him,  God  consigned  to 
them  every  affliction  of  mind  and  body  ;  when  you 
see  and  know  all  this,  would  you  not  be  led  to  pro- 
nounce that  man  irrevocably  lost?  That  he  was 
not  only  deprived  of  all  assistance  from  God,  but 
also  abandoned  to  every  species  of  misery  ?  But 
although  the  storm  of  divine  wrath  burst  over  his 
guilty  head,  yet  the  love  and  benignity  of  God  shot 
a  gleam  of  consolation  across  the  darkness  which 
enveloped  him.  The  sacred  Scriptures  inform  us 
that  "  the  Lord  God  made,  for  Adam  and  his  wife, 
garments  of  skins  and  clothed  them,"  (Gen.  iii.  21), 
a  most  convincing  proof  that  God,  even  when  He 
seems  to  be  angry,  does  not  cease  to  pour  out  the 
inexhaustible  treasures  of  His  mercy. 

Secondly.  Because  He  often  communicates  Him- 
self before  He  is  asked,  as  He  does  in  all  the  so- 
called   preventing   graces,  by  which   He  moves  the 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  211 

soul  to  pray  for  subsequent  ones  ;  for  no  one  will 
pray  to  God  in  that  manner  in  which  he  ought,  says 
St.  Augustine,  unless  he  be  incited  to  it  by  the 
grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Thirdly.  Even  when  the  "  Lord  touches"  (Job 
xix.  21),  it  is  not  with  hostile  purpose,  but  to  heal 
by  striking.  If  He  chastises  the  sinner,  it  is  to  re- 
claim him  by  salutary  severity,  and  rescue  him 
from  everlasting  perdition  by  the  infliction  of 
present  punishment.  "  He  visits  our  iniquities 
with  a  rod,  and  our  sins  with  stripes,  but  His  mercy 
He  taketh  not  away  from  us."  (Ps.  lxxxviii.  34.) 
"  He  woundeth  and  cureth :  He  striketh  and  His 
hand  shall  heal."     (Job  v.  18). 

Fourthly.  If  asked,  He  gives  more  than  is  asked 
of  Him.  The  good  thief  on  the  cross  asked  of 
Jesus  Christ,  no  more  than  to  be  mindful  of  him  in 
His  kingdom,  (Luke  xxiii.  42,)  but  Jesus  Christ 
gave  him  far  more,  saying  to  him  :  "Amen  I  say  to 
thee,  this  day  thou  shalt  be  with  Me  in  Paradise  ;" 
"for  grace,"  says  St.  Ambrose,  "is  always  more 
abundant  than  prayer."  King  Ezechias  prayed  to 
God  to  restore  his  health,  which  the  Lord  was 
pleased  to  grant,  and  even  much  more,  adding  fif- 
teen years  to  his  life,  and  granting  him  a  miracu- 
lous victory  over  the  Assyrians.  (Isai.  xxxviii.) 
Solomon  asks  wisdom  of  the  Lord,  Who  gave  it 
him,  besides  immense  wealth  and  riches.  (Ill 
King!  iii.)     Daniel  prayed  to  God  for  the  deliver- 


212  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

ance  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonian  captivity,, 
and  the  Lord  revealed  to  him  the  time  of  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah,  Who  was  to  deliver  the 
whole  world  from  the  captivity  of  the  devil.  (Dan. 
ix.  24).  David  prayed  for  a  son,  and  God  prom- 
ised him  that  the  Messiah  would  descend  from  him. 
(II  Kings  vii.  12). 

Fifthly.  Because  He  often  lavishes  His  gifts  on 
those  whom  He  foresees  will  be  ungrateful ;  nay,  even 
upon  the  impious,  upon  infidels,  heretics,  atheists, 
blasphemers  and  reprobates,  according  to  what  our 
Lord  says  in  the  Gospel :  "  Love  your  enemies  ;  do 
good  to  them  that  hate  you,  etc.,  that  you  be  the 
children  of  your  Father,  Who  is  in  heaven,  Who 
maketh  the  sun  to  rise  upon  the  good  and  the  bad, 
and  raineth  upon  the  just  and  the  unjust."  (Matt, 
v.  4,  5.)  Who  will  dare  deny,  after  these  considera- 
tions, that  God  is,  for  us,  the  best,  the  kindest  and 
most  liberal  of  Fathers  ?  Jesus  Christ  knew  this 
but  too  well,  and  knowing,  at  the  same  time,  that 
every  one  has  most  confidence  in  his  own  father, 
and  that  His  heavenly  Father  wished  us  to  have 
the  greatest  confidence  in  Him,  especially  when  we 
pray,  He  wanted  to  call  our  attention  to  His  rela- 
tionship with  us,  to  His  infinite  love,  fondness  and 
promptness  of  communicating  Himself  and  all  His 
gifts  to  us  by  saying  :  "  Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  you, 
if  you  ask  the  Father  anything  in  My  name,  He 
will  give  it   you."     (John   xvi.  23.)     It  is  some- 


QUALITIES   OF   TRAYER.  213 

thing  quite  remarkable,  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
when  exhorting  us  to  pray,  would  never  use  the 
expressions  :  "  If  you  ask  your  Creator,  your  God, 
your  Lord,"  and  the  like,  but  He  always  says  :  "If 
you  ask  the  Father  anything."  God  exhorts  all 
men,  by  the  wise  man,  "to  be  mindful  of  Him  in 
the  days  of  their  youth."  But  in  doing  this,  He 
does  not  use  the  expression  "Father,"  but  "Cre- 
ator." "Remember  thy  Creator,"  He  says,  "in 
the  days  of  thy  youth."  (Eccles.  xii.  1.)  If  He 
reproaches  His  people  with  ingratitude,  or  reminds 
them  of  His  benefits,  He  makes  use  of  the  title  of 
"  Redeemer"  or  "  Saviour."  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy 
God,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  thy  Saviour,  I  have 
given  Egypt  for  thy  atonement,  Ethiopia  and  Saba 
for  thee."  (Isai.  xliii.  3.)  Whenever  He  gave 
commands  to  His  people,  He  would  say  :  "  Thus 
saitli  the  Lord,"  or,  "  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  it  ;"  if  threatening  with  punishments,  He 
would  say  :  "I  will  visit  you,  saith  the  Lord,  with 
war,  famine,  pestilence,  and  then  you  shall  know 
t li.it  I  am  your  Lord  and  God."  But  whenever  He 
speaks  of  prayer,  and  wants  to  be  besought  for  His 
graces  and  gifts,  He  calls  Himself  (as  I  have  just 
said),  by  the  meekest,  sweetest  and  most  amiable 
name  of  "Father."  Thus,  therefore,  shall  you 
pray:  "Our  Father  Who  art  in  Heaven"  (Matt. 

and  again,  "thou,  when  thou  shalt  enter 
into  thy  chamber,  and  haying  shut  the  door,  pray 

19 


214  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

to  thy  'Father'  in  secret,  and  thy  'Father,'  Who 
seeth  in  secret,  will  repay  thee."  (Matt.  vi.  6.) 
At  another  time:  "  Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  you,  if 
you  ask  the  Father  anything  in  My  name,  He  will 
give  it  you."  (John  xvi.  23  ;  xv.  16  ;  xiv.  13, 14.) 
And  again:  "If  you,  then,  being  evil,  know  how 
to  give  good  gifts  to  your  children,  how  much  more 
will  your  Father,  Who  is  in  heaven,  give  good 
things  to  them  that  ask  them."  (Matt.  vii.  11.) 
Behold,  then,  whenever  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
speaks  of  prayer,  He  intimates  to  us,  on  the  part  of 
His  heavenly  Father,  that  He  wishes  us  to  call 
Him,  not  by  the  title  of  "Almighty,"  or  "Crea- 
tor," or  "Saviour,"  but  by  that  of  "Father." 
Why  is  this  ?  First,  because  this  name  is,  above 
all  others,  the  most  pleasing  one  we  can  give  Him, 
and  by  calling  Him  "  Father,"  we  confer  more 
honor  upon  Him  than  by  any  other  appellation. 
According  to  St.  Cyril,  "  it  is  something  far  greater 
in  God  to  be  Father  than  to  be  Lord,  because,  as 
Father,  He  generates  His  Son,  Who  is  His  consub- 
stantial  equal ;  but  as  Lord  He  made  creatures, 
which  are  infinitely  less  than  His  Son."  (Lib.  I., 
Thesauri  c.  6.)  Secondly  and  principally,  He  wishes 
us  to  call  Him  by  the  name  of  Father,  in  order  that 
we  might  have  in  Him,  as  our  Father,  the  most 
perfect  confidence  in  its  widest  acceptation.  "Oh, 
the  great  dignity  of  a  praying  man,  to  have  God  for 
Father,"  exclaims  St.  Cajetan  ;    "for  you  will  not 


QUALITIES   OF    PRAYER.  215 

approach  Him  with  your  petition  as  a  servant  ap- 
proaches his  master,  or  a  subject  his  prince,  or  a 
criminal  his  judge  ;  no,  you  come  to  Him,  like  a 
child  to  his  father,  with  love,  and  a  firm  confidence 
that  nothing  will  be  refused  to  you." 

The  Apostle,  writing  to  the  Romans,  says  :  "  You 
have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again  in 
fear,  but  you  have  received  the  spirit  of  adoption  of 
sons,  whereby  we  cry  :  Abba  (Father)"  (Rom.  viii. 
15),  just  like  little  children  stretching  forth  their 
hands  after  their  father,  and  crying:  "  Father" — 
an  expression  of  the  most  tender  love  and  affection, 
and  of  the  most  unbounded  confidence.  Certainly 
it  would  be  the  height  of  folly  not  to  have  confi- 
dence in  one's  own  father.  Were  you  to  ask  a  favor 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  should 
he  leave  the  grant  of  it  to  your  father,  would  you 
hesitate  for  a  moment  to  believe  that  your  request 
would  be  complied  with  ?  Could  the  President  give 
you  a  more  favorable  answer  than  by  saying  :  "Go 
to  your  father,  I  will  ratify  his  decision?"  Oh, 
how  kind  is  our  Lord  !  As  often  as  we  pray  for 
something,  He  points  out  to  us  His  and  our  hea- 
venly Father,  Who  is  kindness,  mercy,  charity, 
liberality  aud  love  itself.  It  is  to  Him  that  we  are 
to  address  our  petition,  saying:  "  Abba  :  Father." 
This  word  alone  will  touch  His  heart,  in  which  love 
and  mercy  have  taken  up  their  abode.  Absalom 
was  a  degenerated  son,  rebelling  against  David,  his 


216  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

own  father,  and  yet,  how  many  and  bitter  were  the 
tears  which  David  shed  when  he  heard  of  the  death 
of  his  son.  u  The  king,  therefore,  being  much 
moved,  went  up  to  the  high  chamber  over  the  gate, 
and  wept  ;  and  as  he  went,  he  spoke  in  this  man- 
ner :  c  My  son  Absalom,  Absalom  ;  my  son,  who 
would  grant  "me  that  I  might  die  for  thee.  Absa- 
lom, my  son  ;  my  son,  Absalom.'  "  (II  Kings  xviii. 
33.)  But,  holy  king,  over  whom  dost  thou  weep  ? 
Is  it  not  over  a  rebellious  son  who  intended  to  de- 
throne thee,  to  become  king  in  thy  stead  ?  Now, 
has  not  his  death  been  the  means  of  thy  deliver- 
ance ?  Shouldst  thou  not  rather  rejoice  ?  St.  Greg- 
ory, answering  for  him,  says  :  "  You  cannot  fathom 
the  feelings  of  a  father's  heart.  Absalom,  it  is 
true,  was  an  impious  son  ;  but  he  was  my  son, 
whose  death  I  deeply  lament,  and  over  which  I  am 
inconsolable." 

The  prodigal  son  also  knew,  but  too  well,  how 
guilty  he  was  in  the  sight  of  his  father  :  yet,  re- 
membering the  affectionate  love  of  his  father's 
heart,  he  felt  quite  consoled  and  full  of  confidence, 
and  said  to  himself:  "  I  will  arise  and  will  go  to 
my  father,  and  say  to  him  :  Father,  I  have  sinned 
against  heaven  and  before  thee."  (Luke  xv.  18.) 
"How  do  you  dare,"  asks  St.  Peter  Chrysologus, 
"  to  go  and  see  your  father,,  against  whom  you  have 
so  much  offended  ?  What  hope  can  you  have  to  be 
received  again?"     And   he  answers:    u  He  is  my 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  217 

father.  I  have  not  behaved,  it  is  true,  like  a  good 
son,  yet,  for  all  that,  my  father's  heart  and  love  for 
me  have  not  died  away.  His  heart  will  speak  for 
me  far  more  powerfully  than  could  my  words.  No 
sooner  shall  I  have  called  him  by  the  name  of 
father  than  his  heart  will  feel  moved  to  the  quick  ; 
I  will  go  to  him  without  fear."  This  being  true, 
with  how  great  a  confidence  ought  we  not,  then,  to 
pray  to  our  heavenly  Father,  of  Whom,  Tertullian 
says,  "  that  no  one  can  ever  equal  Him  in  kindness, 
in  amiability  and  liberality."  He  says  of  Himselfy 
by  the  prophet  Isaias :  "  Can  a  woman  forget  her 
infant  so  as  not  to  have  pity  on  the  son  of  her 
womb  ?  And  if  she  should  forget,  yet  will  I  not 
forget  thee.  Behold,  I  have  graven  thee  in  my 
hands."  (Ch.  xlix.  15,  16.)  Jesus  Christ  assures 
us  of  the  same,  when  He  says  :  "  And  I  say  not  to 
you,  that  I  will  ask  the  Father  for  you ;  for  the 
Father  Himself  loveth  you."     (John  xvi.  26,  27.) 

.  let  us  suppose  that  we  were  all  children  of 
one  father  ;  that  that  father  was  in  heaven,  and 
that  God  would  reveal  to  us  that  He  would  give 
him  power  to  grant  us  anything  we  should  ask — 
oli !  with  how  great  a  confidence  would  we  not  pray 
to  our  father.  Which  of  us,  for  a  moment,  would 
doubt  that  his  prayers  would  be  heard?     No  ;  every 

would  say  :   "  My  father  loves  me  too  much  to 
refuse  my  prayer  ;  I  shall  obtain  whatever  I  ask  of 
him.'1     Yet,  it  will  always  be  true  that  the  love  of 
19* 


218  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

our  natural  father,  were  it  even  to  equal  that  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  would  always  be  limited  to  a 
certain  degree,  because  he  is  a  creature.  Now,  if, 
nevertheless,  our  confidence  would  be  exceedingly 
great  in  our  natural  father,  how  much  greater 
ought  it  not  to  be  in  our  heavenly  Father,  Whose 
power,  goodness,  liberality  and  love  for  us  are  in-» 
finite  ?  Were  you,  then,  not  to  pray  with  as  much, 
nay,  with  far  more  confidence  to  your  heavenly 
Father,  you  would  certainly  do  Him  a  great  injus- 
tice, believing  Him,  as  it  were,  to  be  less  powerful, 
less  good,  less  liberal,  and  less  affectionate  towards 
you  than  your  earthly  father.  Far  be  it  from  you 
ever  to  make  yourself  guilty  of  this  great  blas- 
phemy. 

If  the  relation  which  Grod  bears  to  us  must  neces- 
sarily inspire  us  with  the  greatest  possible  confi- 
dence, the  relation  we  bear  to  Him  is  not  less  calcu- 
lated to  do  so,  for,  if  He  be  our  Father,  then  we  are 
his  children,  and  the  laws  of  all  nations,  in  accord- 
ance with  those  of  nature,  grant  to  children  a  holy 
right  to,  and  claim  upon,  their  father's  goods,  espe- 
cially so  if  they  were  given  to  him  to  transmit  them 
to  his  children.  The  following  parable  will  illus- 
trate this  right  of  children  :  A  poor  man,  by  the 
name  of  Peter,  came  one  day  to  his  friend  Paul, 
and  exposed  to  him  his  great  wants  and  troubles  : 
"  Dear  friend,"  said  he,  "  do  you  not  know  any  one 
who  could  help  me?"     "  Yes,  I  do,"  replied  Paul. 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  219 

"  Go  to  Mr.  N  ....  he  will  help  you."  "lam 
afraid,"  said  Peter,  "to  go  to  him  on  account  of 
his  elevated  position."  "  You  need  not  be  afraid," 
said  Paul,  "because  this  gentleman  is  goodness, 
liberality  and  charity  itself;  he  receives  and  listens 
to  every  one  with  the  greatest  affability.  He  even 
published  a  circular,  some  time  ago,  in  which  he 
styled  himself  '  the  father  of  the  poor,'  inviting 
them  all  to  come  and  make  him  acquainted  with 
their  wants  ;  he  never  feels  happier  than  when  with 
the  poor,  to  relieve  them.  He  is  exceedingly  rich, 
so  much  so  that  I  think  he  could  provide  for  all  the 
poor  in  the  world.  He  had  a  most  amiable  and 
darling  son,  to  whom  he  made  over  all  his  posses- 
sions ;  but  his  son  died  a  short  time  ago.  In  his 
will,  he  instituted  the  poor,  without  any  exception, 
as  heirs  to  all  his  goods,  leaving  his  father  execu- 
tor of  his  will.  Hence  it  is  that  this  gentleman, 
besides  his  natural  affection  for  the  poor,  feels  him- 
self bound  in  conscience  to  give  them  whatsoever 
they  need.  There  is  no  reason,  then,  why  you 
should  fear  to  go  and  call  on  him,  for  you  will  cer- 
tainly receive  what  you  want."  Peter,  hearing 
this,  went  (juitc  confidently  to  this  gentleman,  and 
received  whatever  he  needed.  In  this  parable  the 
poor  man  represents  ourselves,  and  the  rich  lord 
thereof  is  (iod.  He  has  published  a  circular  re- 
corded in  Holy  Scripture  ;  it  is  as  follows  :  "  Every 
one  that  afiketh.  receiveth"   (Luke  xiii.  10);  and, 


220  ON    THK    CONDITIONS    AND 

"  all  things  whatsoever  you  shall  ask  in  prayer, 
believing,  you  shall  receive."  (Matt.  xxi.  22.) 
He  also  gave  up  everything  to  His  Son  Jesus  :  "All 
things  are  delivered  up  to  Me  by  My  Father." 
(Matt.  xi.  27.)  But  His  Son  Jesus  died,  having 
made  us  heirs  to  all  His  merits  and  riches  of  divine 
grace  and  gifts,  and  His  Father  considers  us  as  His 
dear  children,  who,  in  justice,  claim  the  merits  and 
graces  of  His  Son.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  called 
our  attention  to  this  right  of  ours  when  He  said  : 
"  If  you  ask  the  Father  anything  in  My  name  He 
will  give  it  to  you."  (John  xvi.  23.)  You  must 
represent  to  your  heavenly  Father,  He  means  to 
say,  that  He  is  your  Father,  and  that  you  are  His 
children,  and  have  as  such,  according  to  all  divine 
and  human  laws,  an  indisputable  claim  upon  His 
goods.  Your  claim  is  also  the  greater  as  I,  His 
Son,  became  man,  suffered  so  much,  and  died  so 
cruel  and  ignominious  a  death,  for  no  other  pur- 
pose than  this  :  to  merit  for  you  all  goods  and  all 
treasures  of  the  Divine  power,  goodness  and  mercy. 
Not  on  account  of  your  own  merits  and  works  are 
you  to  claim  everything  from  Him,  but  for  the  sake 
of  My  merits,  My  virtues,  My  life,  My  sufferings, 
My  death,  My  dignity,  and  the  authority  which  I 
enjoy  with  Him,  you  must  ask  His  graces.  Rep- 
resent this  to  Him  and  say:  "Father,  shouldst 
Thou  not  hear  our  prayers,  certainly  Thou  wouldst 
give  us  reason  to  think  that  Thou  dost  not  love  Thy 


QUALITIES    OF    PRAYER. 


99 


Son,  Who  said  :  '  Whatsoever  you  shall  ask  the  Fa- 
ther in  My  name,  He  will  give  it  to  you.'  Shouldst 
Thou  not  do  this,  Thou  wouldst  give  Him  the  lie, 
and  make  us  believe,  as  it  were,  that  His  merits 
were  not  great  enough  to  obtain  everything  for  us; 
would  this  not  be  very  injurious  to  His  honor? 
Again,  shouldst  Thou  not  hear  us,  Thy  justice  will 
be  accused  for  not  giving  us  what  Thy  Son  gained 
for  us  during  thirty-three  years  of  hard  labor  and 
sufferings.  Alas,  our  Father,  shall  ever  such  accu- 
sations be  brought  against  Thee  ?  No  ;  Thou  wilt 
give  a  thousand  times  more  to  Thy  children  than 
they  ask  rather  than  give  the  least  cause  to  think 
unbecomingly  of  Thy  power,  goodness,  liberality 
and  love  for  Thy  well-beloved  Son." 

A  Sister  of  Charity,  in  the  time  of  the  war,  went 
to  an  officer  of  the  United  States  army  to  obtain 
a  pass  to  go  South,  saying:  "Please  give  me  a 
pass,  for  the  love  of  God."  "I  have  no  love  for 
God,"  replied  the  officer.  "  Give  me  one  for  the 
love  of  your  wife,"  she  asked  again.  "  I  have  no 
love  for  my  wife,"  answered  the  officer.  "  Give  me 
one,  then,  for  the  love  of  your  children,"  continued 
the  good  Sister.  u  I  have  no  love  for  my  children," 
was  his  reply.  "  Give  me  one  for  the  love  of  your 
best  friend."  "I  have  no  such  friend,"  said  the 
officer.  "Well,"  said  the  Sister,  "is  there  noth- 
ing in  the  world  that  is  dear  to  you  and  which  you 
love  much?     Please  reflect  a  while."     "0  yes," 


222  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

said  the  officer,  after  a  moment's  reflection  ;  "  I 
have  a  dear  little  child  that  I  love  most  tenderly." 
"Well,  please  then,"  said  the  Sister,  "  give  me  a 
pass  for  the  love  of  this  dear  little  child."  At 
these  words,  the  heart  of  the  officer  was  touched, 
and  he  gave  her  a  pass.  Truly,  should  God  have 
no  more  love  for  His  beloved  Son  than  this  officer 
had  for  his  little  child,  He  would  feel  obliged  to 
hear  our  prayer,  addressed  to  Him  in  His  Son's 
name,  so  as  not  to  appear  less  good  than  man. 
Alas  !  my  God  and  Father,  for  having  compared 
Thy  love  for  Thy  Son  to  that  of  a  father  for  his 
child — Thy  love  being  infinite  like  Thyself — what 
favor  and  grace,  then,  couldst  Thou  refuse  if  asked 
in  the  name  of  Thy  beloved  Son  ?  Thou  didst  hear 
the  prayers  of  the  Jews  when  they  asked  Thee  any- 
thing in  the  name  of  Thy  servants  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob,  and  shall  it  be  said  that  Thou  wilt  not 
hear  a  Christian  if  he  asks  anything  of  Thee  in  the 
name  and  for  the  sake  of  the  merits  of  Thy  beloved 
Son  ?  True  it  is,  and  true  it  always  will  be,  what 
St.  John  Chrysostom  has  said  of  the  name  of  Thy 
Son  :  "So  powerful,  so  efficacious,  and  of  so  great 
an  authority  is  it  with  the  Father,  that,  for  the 
sake  of  His  name  alone,  He  grants  the  most  won- 
derful things."  Oh,  great  St.  John  Chrysostom  ! 
wonderful  is  your  praise  of  the  power  of  the  name 
of  Jesus.  But  were  you  to  unite  to  all  the  Angels 
and  Saints  of  heaven  in  describing  its  power,  you 


QUALITIES   OF    PRAYER.  223 

could  not  say  anything  more  wonderful  in  favor  of 
it  than  what  Jesus  Christ  has  said  of  it  in  these 
few  words:  "  Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  you,  ivhatso- 
ever  you  ask  the  Father  in  My  name,  He  will  give 
it  to  you."  My  Father,  He  says,  grants  every- 
thing, nothing  excepted,  that  is  asked  in  My  name, 
and  in  order  that  you  may  not  hesitate  in  the  least, 
and  have  no  doubt  whatever  to  believe  My  words,  I 
8 wear  to  you  that  it  is  so  :  "  Amen,  amen,  I  say  to 
you,"  "  which  words  imply  a  solemn  oath,"  as  St. 
Augustine  remarks.  Who  shall,  then,  after  such 
a  solemn  promise  of  God,  confirmed  even  by  an 
oath  on  His  part,  continue  to  perform  a  diffident 
prayer,  still  wavering  in  the  least  hope  of  receiving 
what  he  asks  of  God,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ? 
Who  does  not  see,  after  all  these  considerations, 
that  such  a  wavering,  such  a  hesitation  and  doubt 
would  imply  a  great  injury  to  the  omnipotence  of 
God,  as  if  not  able  to  give  ;  to  His  goodness,  as  if 
not  willing  to  give ;  to  His  fidelity  in  promising, 
as  if  not  caring 'about,  or  being  bound  to  keep  His 
promises?  Most  assuredly  His  Holiness  and  Good- 
ness would  forbid  Him  to  make  promises  to  us  if 
|[<-  did  not  intend  to  fulfil  them  ;  but,  as  they  arc 
made,  our  faith  in  His  veracity  must  forbid  us  also 
to  doubt  them  in  the  least,  and  we  must,  conse- 
quently, confide  and  hope  firmly  that  He  will  hear 
our  prayer,  saying,  with  St.  Alphonsus  :  "  And  for 
If."  says    this   Saint,  "I  speak  the  truth,    1 


224  ON    THE   CONDITIONS    AND 

never  feel  greater  consolation,  nor  a  greater  confi- 
dence of  my  salvation,  than  when  I  am  praying  to 
God  and  recommending  myself  to  Him.  And  I 
think  the  same  happens  to  all  other  believers  ;  for 
the  other  signs  of  salvation  are  uncertain  and  un- 
stable ;  but,  that  God  hears  the  man  who  prays  to 
Him  with  confidence,  is  an  infallible  truth,  just  as 
it  is  infallible  that  God  cannot  fail  in  His  prom- 
ises." (St.  Alphonsus  on  Confidence  in  Prayer.) 
Nay,  Jesus  Christ,  the  Eternal  Truth,  has  said, 
that  he  who  has  this  faith  and  confidence  in  His 
name  shall  do  even  greater  things  than  He  Himself 
did  :  "Amen,  amen,  I  say  to  you,  he  that  believeth 
in  Me,  the  works  that  I  do,  he  also  shall  do,  and 
greater  than  these  shall  he  do."  (John  xiv.  12.) 
By  what  means  shall  we  do  these  greater  things  ? 
By  invoking  His  name  and  praying  for  them  in 
this  same  name,  in  order  that  the  Father  may  be 
glorified  in  the  Son,  as  He  Himself  explains  it  in 
the  same  place  when  He  says  :  "  Whatsoever  you 
shall  ask  the  Father  in  My  name,  that  will  I  do, 
that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son."  I 
leave  you,  my  dear  Apostles,  He  means  to  say,  and 
return  to  My  Father  ;  but,  in  place  of  my  bodily 
presence,  I  leave  and  give  to  you  the  invocation  of 
My  name,  in  order  that,  by  this  invocation,  you 
may  ask  and  receive  these  greater  things. 

Do  not  say  that  it  is  presumption  to  believe  that 
God  should  be  bound  to  hear  our  prayers.    It  would, 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  225 

indeed,  be  presumption  to  believe  that  He  is  bound 
to  hear  us  on  account  of  our  own  merits  ;  but  con- 
sidering the  infinite  fondness  of  God  in  communica- 
ting Himself  with  all  His  gifts  to  His  rational 
creatures,  and  the  most  astonishing  proofs  of  it,  as 
described  above ;  His  relation  to  us  as  Father  and 
ours  to  Him  as  children  ;  the  infinite  merits  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  His  solemn  promise,  confirmed  by 
His  own  oath,  to  give  us  whatsoever  we  ask  the  Fa- 
ther in  His  name  ;  considering  all  these  reasons,  we 
are,  certainly,  no  more  presumptuous  in  thus  be- 
lieving, than  a  poor  man  would  be  in  believing  and 
hoping  that  a  rich  and  honest  man  would  give  him 
an  old  cast-off  garment  after  promising  to  do  so. 
A  holy  presumption  it  may  be  called  indeed,  which 
unhesitatingly  and  unshakably  trusts  in  God's  good- 
ness; a  presumption  most  pleasing  to  God,  with 
which  a  servant  of  the  Lord  converses  with  His  Di- 
vine Majesty. 

St.  Gregory  Nazianzen  relates  of  his  sister  Gor- 
gonia,  that  her  prayer  was  once  quite  presumptuous. 
Being  one  day  attacked  by  a  severe  illness,  she  went 
to  church  and  prayed  there  to  God  in  a  threatening 
manner,  protesting  that  she  would  not  leave  His 
Altar  before  she  should  be  restored  to  health. 

Palladius  relates  of  Paul  the  Hermit,  that  "  one 

day  he  exorcised  a  young  man  who  was  possessed 

by  an  evil  spirit.     But,  as  the  devil  cursed  all  the 

tinK\  saying  :   "  You  shall  not  make  me  leave  this 

20 


226  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

young  man  by  whatever  means  you  may  adopt," 
the  holy  Hermit  commenced  to  pray  to  God  most 
earnestly  :  "  Why,  0  Lord,  dost  Thou  not  com- 
mand the  devil  to  obey  me  ?  For  half  a  day  already 
have  I  been  praying  and  trying  to  cast  him  out,  but 
all  in  vain  ;  but  now,  be  assured,  I  am  resolved 
neither  to  eat  nor  drink  anything,  but  die  of  hun- 
ger, rather  than  to  rise  without  seeing  this  young 
man  delivered  from  the  evil  spirit."  And  behold, 
in  the  same  moment,  the  devil  left  the  young  man, 
howling  and  crying,  without  ever  returning. 

Surius  relates  of  St.  Catherine  of  Sienna,  that, 
after  her  mother  had  suddenly  died,  without  receiv- 
ing the  last  Sacraments,  she  commenced  to  pray 
with  an  unusual  fervor  and  unlimited  confidence  in 
God,  saying:  "  Is  it  thus,  0  Lord,  that  Thou 
keepest  Thy  promise,  that  none  of  our  family  should 
die  an  unhappy  death  ?  How  couldst  Thou  permit 
my  mother  to  die  without  the  last  Sacraments? 
Hear,  now,  0  Lord,  I  will  not  rise  from  this  place 
before  Thou  hast  restored  my  mother  alive  ;"  and 
behold,  her  mother  arose  from  the  dead,  and  lived 
still  for  several  years.  If  she  prayed  for  anything 
else,  for  instance,  for  the  conversion  of  a  sinner, 
she  would  say  :  "  My  God,  I  will  not  let  Thee 
alone  until  Thou  hast  granted  my  petition." 

Most  wonderful  indeed  is  what  St.  Ananias  ob- 
tained by  his  confident  prayer.  The  king  of  Baby- 
lon had   commanded  the  Christians   to   remove  a 


QUALITIES    OF   PRAYER.  22*7 

mountain  by  means  of  their  prayer,  in  proof  of  the 
truth  of  their  faith,  as  otherwise  he  would  put  them 
to  death,  or  force  them  to  renounce  their  faith.  It 
was  useless  to  represent  to  him  that  it  was  to  tempt 
God,  to  ask  a  miracle  of  Him  without  necessity,  for 
the  mere  purpose  of  satisfying  curiosity.  The  bar- 
barous king  could  not  be  shaken  in  his  resolve.  St. 
Ananias,  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  hearing  of  the  dis- 
tress of  the  Christians,  went  to  the  king,  and  con- 
fiding in  the  promise  of  God  to  hear  every  prayer, 
said  to  him :  "  In  order  that  you  may  know,  0 
king,  that  the  promises  of  the  God  Whom  we  wor- 
ship are  not  false,  behold,  that  big  mountain  whicli 
you  wish  should  move  from  its  place,  shall  not  only 
move,  but  run  even."  Then  raising  his  voice,  he 
said  :  "  In  the  name  of  that  God  Who  has  promised 
us  the  obedience  of  the  mountains,  I  command  thee 
to  rise  and  move  towards  the  city,  and  do  so  all  at 
once."  No  sooner  had  he  spoken  these  words  than 
he  mountain  rose,  in  the  presence  of  the  king  and 
people,  and  moved  towards  the  city  as  fast  as  a  ves- 
sel, with  a  fair  wind,  on  the  ocean."  (Petr.  de 
nat.  in  Cat.  Sanct.  I.  9.  c.  19.)  It  knocked  down  the 
trees  and  the  houses,  and  the  king,  commencing  to 
fear  it  might  come  upon  the  city,  and  destroy  it 
altogether,  requested  the  holy  Bishop  to  stop  the 
mountain  in  its  course.  The  Saint  did  so,  and  the 
mountain  again  obeyed  his  voice,  staying  there  up 
to  this  day. 


228  ON   THE   CONDITIONS  AND 

With  similar  confidence  in  God,  St.  John  the 
Almoner  used  to  say  :  "  Should  all  men  of  the 
whole  world  come  to  Alexandria  to  beg  alms,  I 
would  give  every  one,  for  the  whole  world  is  not 
able  to  diminish  or  exhaust  the  treasures  of  God." 
Hence  God  would  change  brass  into  silver  for  him, 
and  give  him  the  hundredfold  even  in  this  life,  so 
much  so  that  the  more  he  would  spend  the  more  he 
would  receive."     (His  life  by  Leontius.) 

Let  us  learn  from  this  that  God  cannot  refuse  a 
confident  prayer.  Our  hope  and  confidence  are, 
as  it  were,  the  money  with  which  we  purchase  all 
His  graces,  for  we  have  nothing  else  to  offer  Him. 
He  Himself  values  this  confidence  exceedingly,  be- 
cause He  feels  Himself  extremely  honored  by  it. 
By  it  we  show  that  we  distrust  ourselves  ;  that  we 
stand  in  need  of  Him  ;  that  He  is  almighty,  most 
merciful  and  most  liberal ;  nay,  even  that  He  is 
God,  Father,  Euler  and  Provider  of  ourselves,  as 
well  as  of  all  His  creatures.  Hence  His  gifts  stand 
in  an  exact  proportion  to  our  hope  and  confidence 
in  Him.  We  shall  most  assuredly  receive  what 
we  most  confidently  pray  for.  Hope  and  pray  for 
great  things,  and  great  things  shall  be  given  you. 
The  more  room  you  make  for  confidence  in  your 
soul,  the  more  you  enlarge  and  prepare  it  for  the 
reception  of  the  gifts  of  God,  according  to  what 
holy  David  says  :  u  Open  thy  mouth  wide  and 
I  will  fill  it."     (Ps.  lxxx.  11.)     Whenever  you  go 


QUALITIES  OP  PRAYER.  229 

to  prayer,  reanimate  your  confidence  in  the  Lord  by 
calling  to  mind  His  infinite  desire  of  communi- 
cating Himself  and  all  His  gifts  to  every  one.  Ke- 
member  the  stupendous  effects  of  this  desire  in  all 
that  God  has  done  through  His  Son  ;  do  not  forget 
His  relation,  as  Father  to  you,  and  yours  as  a  child 
to  Him  ;  bear  in  mind  His  infallible  promise  to 
give  whatsoever  is  asked  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  do  not  lose  sight  of  the  confidence  with 
which  the  Saints  would  pray  to  Him,  and  obtain 
most  wondrous  things.  Imagine  you  hear,  as  it 
were,  the  voice  of  Jesus  Christ  whispering  into  your 
ear  :  "  Whatsoever  you  ask,  believing,  you  shall 
receive  ;"  or  saying,  as  it  did  one  day  to  the  mother 
of  St.  Gregory  of  Tours,  who  was  weeping  bitterly, 
believing,  as  she  did,  that  every  member  of  the 
family  would  die  of  the  epidemic  which  had  widely 
spread  in  the  city  of  Arveon  :  "Pray,"  said  the 
voice,  "and  you  shall  be  delivered."  (St.  Greg. 
Touron.  apud  Luc.  in  vit.  St.  Benigni.)  She  went 
to  the  grave  of  St.  Benignus,  and  obtained  there, 
by  her  fervent  and  confident  prayer,  the  grace  that 
none  of  her  family  should  be  attacked  by  the  epi- 
demic. Yes,  pray  ;  but  pray  with  confidence  and 
you  shall  be  delivered  from  all  the  miseries  of  your 
soul  ;  from  darkness  and  blindness  of  the  under- 
standing ;  from  weakness  and  lethargy  of  the  will ; 
from  lukewarmness  of  the  heart ;  from  coldness  to- 
wards Jesus  Christ.  You  will  be  delivered  from 
20* 


230  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

your  feebleness  of  faith  in  the  sacred  mysteries  of 
our  holy  religion  ;  from  tepidity  and  indevotion  in 
your  prayers  and  other  spiritual  exercises  ;  from 
attachment  to  sensual  pleasures ;  from  sins  and 
punishments  due  to  them.  Pray  with  confidence, 
and  confident  prayer  will  deliver  you  from  all  these 
and  many  other  evils  of  the  soul  ;  nay,  it  will  do 
more,  it  will  introduce  into  your  soul  all  graces, 
gifts  and  virtues  in  an  eminent  degree  ;  for  "  Be- 
hold, the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  not  shortened  that  it 
cannot  save,  neither  is  His  ear  heavy  that  it  cannot 
hear"  (Isai.  lix.  1)  ;  or,  as  Jesus  Christ  says  :  "  I 
tell  you,  God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up 
children  to  Abraham."  (Matt.  iii.  9.)  Can  you 
doubt  this  truth  without  being  guilty  of  blas- 
phemy ?  Was  He  not  able,  and  did  He  not  change 
the  heart  of  Saul,  who  was  such  a  bitter  enemy  of 
the  Catholic  Church,  into  the  heart  of  Paul,  the 
most  zealous  defender  and  propagator  of  the  holy 
faith  ?  Could  He  not,  and  did  He  not  change  the 
sinful  heart  of  the  good  thief ;  of  St.  Augustine  ; 
of  St.  Mary  of  Egypt ;  St.  Margaret  of  Cortona, 
and  thousands  of  infidels,  Jews,  heretics  and  sin- 
ners, into  most  just  and  holy  hearts,  replenishing 
them  with  all  His  gifts  and  the  treasures  of  His 
grace  ?  Will  He  not,  and  must  He  not,  do  the 
same  for  you,  especially  so,  as  He  made  an  express 
promise  to  give  this  very  grace,  when  He  said  :  "If 
you,  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts 


0 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  231 

to  your  children,  how  much  more  will  your  Father 
from  heaven  give  the  good  Spirit  to  them  that  ask 
Him?"  (Luke  xi.  13.)  "  Hitherto  you  have  not 
asked  anything,  especially  this  good  Spirit,  in  My 
name.  Ask  and  you  shall  receive,  that  your  joy 
may  he  full."     (John  xvi.  24.) 


VIII. — Our  Prayer  must  be  Persevering. 

When  Holofernes  was  besieging  the  city  of  Be- 
thulia,  so  that  none  could  escape,  all,  men,  women 
and  children,  young  and  old,  commenced  to  pray 
and  to  fast,  crying  to  the  Lord,  with  tears  in  their 
eyes  :  c '  Have  Thou  mercy  on  us,  because  Thou  art 
good."  (Judith  vii.  20.)  But  the  Lord  deferring 
to  come  to  their  aid,  they  began  to  yield  to  despair. 
Ozias,  their  leader,  rising  up  all  in  tears,  said : 
"  Be  of  good  courage,  my  brethren,  and  let  us  wait 
for  these  five  days  for  mercy  from  the  Lord  ;  but  if, 
after  five  days  be  past,  there  comes  no  aid,  we  will 
do  the  things  which  you  have  spoken,"  that  is, 
deliver  up  the  city  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  if, 
after  having  prayed  for  five  days  more,  we  have  not 
yet  received  any  aid  from  the  Lord.  Now,  it  came 
to  pass  that,  when  Judith  heard  of  this,  she  came 
out  and  said  to  them  :  "  What  is  this  word  by  which 
Ozias  hath  consented  to  give  up  the  city  to  the  Assy- 
rians, if,  within  five  days,  there  come  no  aid  to  us? 


loZ  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

And  who  are  you  that  tempt  the  Lord,  and  you  have 
appointed  Him  a  day,  according  to  your  pleasure?" 
(Judith  viii.  10,  11,  13.)  Thus  Judith  reproaches 
the  Jews  and  their  leader  for  their  rashness  of  hav- 
ing fixed  upon  the  time  within  which  God  was  to 
come  to  their  aid.  This  is  not  the  way  to  obtain 
mercy  from  God,  hut  rather  to  excite  His  indigna- 
tion ;  "this  is  not  a  word  that  may  draw  down 
mercy,  hut  rather  that  may  stir  up  wrath  and  enkin- 
dle indignation."     (Judith  viii.  12.) 

Jesus  Christ  has,  it  is  true,  promised  to  give  us 
everything  we  ask  of  Him,  hut  He  has  not  promised 
to  hear  our  prayers  immediately.  The  holy  Fa- 
thers assign  many  reasons  for  which  He  often  defers 
the  grant  of  our  petitions  : 

First.  That  He  may  the  better  try  our  confi- 
dence in. Him. 

Secondly.  That  we  may  long  more  ardently  for 
His  gifts  and  hold  them  in  higher  esteem .  "He  de- 
fers the  grant  of  them,"  says  St.  Augustine,  "  in  or- 
der to  increase  our  desire  and  appreciation  of  them." 

Thirdly.  "  That  He  may  keep  us  near  Him,"  as 
St.  Francis  de  Sales  says,  "  and  give  us  occasion  to 
pray  with  greater  fervor  and  vehemence.  He  acted 
thus  towards  His  two  disciples  at  Emmaus,  with 
whom  He  did  not  seem  willing  to  stay,  before  they 
forced  Him,  as  it  were,  to  do  so." 

Fourthly.  He  delays,  because  by  this  contri- 
vance, He  wishes  to  unite  Himself  more  closely  to 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  233 

us.  "  This  continual  recourse  to  God  in  prayer," 
says  St.  Alphonsus,  "and  this  confident  expectation 
of  the  graces  which  we  wish  to  obtain  from  God, 
oh!  what  a  great  spur  and  chain  of  love  are  they 
not  to  inflame  us  and  to  bind  us  more  closely  to 
God!"  We  must  not,  therefore,  imitate  the  Jews 
by  appointing  the  time  within  which  God  is  to  hear 
our  prayer,  as  otherwise  we  would  deserve  the 
above  reproach  of  Judith,  but  let  us  humble  our- 
selves before  the  Lord,  and  pray  to  Him  with  tears 
that  according  to  His  ivill,  so  He  would  show  His 
mercy  to  us."  (Judith  viii.  16,  17.)  If  we  are 
patient,  resigned  and  determined  to  persevere  in 
prayer  until  He  is  pleased  to  hear  us,  we  shall  not 
be  disappointed  in  our  hope  and  expectation  to  re- 
ceive what  we  ask  of  Him.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
taught  us  this  when  He  said  :  "  Ask  and  you  shall 
receive ;  seek  and  you  shall  find  ;  knock  and  it  shall 
be  opened  to  you."  (Luke  xi.  9.)  It  might  seem 
that  He  would  have  said  enough,  by  simply  saying 
"Ask,"  and  that  the  words  "seek"  and  "knock" 
would  be  superfluous.  "But  no,"  says  St.  Alphon- 
sus, "by  them  our  Saviour  gave  us  to  understand, 
that  we  must  imitate  the  poor  when  they  ask  alms. 
If  they  do  not  receive  the  alms  they  ask  they  do 
not,  on  that  account,  cease  asking  ;  they  return  to 
ask  again  ;  and  if  the  master  of  the  house  does  not 
show  himself,  they  commence  to  knock  at  the  door, 
until  they  become  so  troublesome  and  importunate 


234  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

that  he  prefers  to  give  them  an  alms,  rather  than  to 
suffer  their  importunity  any  longer."  If  we  pray, 
again  and  again  in  like  manner,  and  do  not  give 
up,  God  will,  at  last,  open  His  hands  and  give  us 
abundantly.  "  When  Thou  openest  Thy  hand  they 
shall  all  be  filled  with  good."     (Ps.  ciii.  28). 

If  men  sometimes  give  alms  to  poor  beggars, 
merely  for  the  sake  of  ridding  themselves  of  their 
importunity  and  annoyances,  "how  much  more," 
says  St.  Augustine,  "  will  the  good  God  give,  Who 
both  commands  us,  and  is  angry  if  we  do  not  ask." 
Hence  St.  Jerome,  commenting  on  the  parable  of 
the  man  who  would  not  give  his  loaves  to  his 
friend  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  until  he  became 
importunate  and  annoying  in  his  demands,  says  : 
"Not  only  once,  but  twice,  yea,  three  times  must 
we  knock,  and  we  must  continue  to  do  so,  until  the 
door  of  God's  mercy  be  opened."  Perseverance  is  a 
great  thing ;  if  it  becomes  importunate  it  will  prove 
a  better  friend  to  us  than  the  one  mentioned  in  the 
parable. 

"Let  us  humbly  wait  for  the  consolations  of  the 
Lord  our  God,"  (Judith  viii.  20),  and  imitate  the 
perseverance  of  the  servants  of  God  in  prayer. 
Moses  was  a  very  great  servant  of  the  Lord,  Who 
would  not  have  granted  him  a  complete  victory  over 
the  Amalekites,  had  it  not  been  for  his  perseverance 
in  prayer.  "  By  perseverance  in  prayer,"  says  St. 
John   Chrysostom  (in  his  sermon   on  Moses),  "he 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  235 

rendered  the  victory  complete."  Isaac  was  very 
dear  to  the  Lord,  and  yet,  in  order  to  obtain  an 
offspring,  he  had  to  pray  for  twenty  years.  "  Isaac 
persevered  in  praying  and  sighing  to  the  Lord  for 
twenty  years,"  says  the  same  Saint,  "  and  finally 
he  obtained  what  he  asked."  (Horn.  94  in  Gen.) 
And  how  did  the  Lord  treat  the  woman  of  Canaan  ? 
"  And  behold  a  woman  of  Canaan,  who  came  out  of 
those  coasts,  crying  out  and  said  to  Him :  "  Have 
mercy  on  me,  0  Lord,  Thou  Son  of  David ;  my 
daughter  is  grievously  troubled  by  a  devil."  (Matt. 
xv.  22.)  And  what  does  our  Lord  reply  ?  He  does 
not  even  as  much  as  look  at  her,  nor  does  He  give 
her  any  answer,  "Who  answered  her  not  a  word." 
Still  she  continues  to  pray  with  great  humility  : 
"Lord,  help  me."  But  our  Lord  seems  not  to  hear 
her,  so  much  so,  that  even  His  disciples,  being 
wearied  and  annoyed  with  her  supplication,  "came 
and  besought  Him  saying :  Send  her  away  for  she 
crieth  after  us."  Instead  of  hearing  her,  He  rejects 
her  like  a  dog,  saying  :  "  It  is  not  good  to  take  the 
bread  of  the  children,  and  to  cast  it  to  the  dogs." 
Who  can  discover  in  this  conduct  of  our  Lord,  any- 
thing of  His  usual  kindness  and  condescension, 
which  He  would  deign  to  show  even  to  the  greatest 
sinners  ?  Will  He  not,  by  His  manner  of  acting, 
intimidate  or  discourage  this  woman,  so  as  to  make 
her  give  up  all  hopes  of  being  heard?  But  no, 
Jesus  Christ   had   His  own  wise   designs  in   thus 


236  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

treating  her.  He  knew  her  and  was  much  pleased 
with  her  faith  and  confidence,  which  He  wanted 
to  make  shine  forth  more  brilliantly.  "But  she 
said  :  Yea,  Lord,  for  the  whelps  also  eat  of  the 
crumbs  that  fall  from  the  table  of  their  masters." 
True,  indeed,  she  wished  to  say,  I  am  but  a  poor 
dog,  but,  as  such,  I  beg  to  help  me,  0  Lord.  And 
the  liberal  hand  of  Jesus  opens  and  gives  her 
what  she  wants.  "  Then  Jesus  answering,  said 
to  her :  0  woman,  great  is  thy  faith  :  be  it  done 
to  thee  as  thou  wilt ;  and  her  daughter  was  cured 
from  that  hour."  Had  this  woman  been  satis- 
fied with  the  first  answer  of  our  Lord,  her  daugh- 
ter would  never  have  been  cured.  St.  Monica  (mo- 
ther of  St.  Augustine)  was  treated  in  like  manner; 
she  had  to  pray  to  God  for  seventeen  years  before 
she  could  obtain  of  Him  the  grace  of  conversion 
for  her  son  Augustine.  Had  she  become  tired  with 
pouring  out  prayers  and  shedding  tears  before  the 
face  of  the  Lord,  in  all  probability  the  name  of 
Augustine  would  not  now  be  shining  with  such  great 
lustre  in  the  calendar  of  the  Saints.  For  twenty 
years  did  St.  Philip  Neri  pray  for  a  high  degree  of 
the  love  of  God.  After  that  time  this  gift  was 
granted  him  in  such  a  measure  as  to  dislocate  his 
ribs. 

Not  only  the  servants  of  God,  but  even  Jesus 
Christ  Himself  was  thus  treated  by  His  heavenly 
Father.      Prostrate  on  His  face,  He  prays  to  Him, 


QUALITIES   OF   PRAYER.  237 

but  receives  neither  relief  nor  comfort.  He  prays  a 
second  time  in  a  most  lamentable  voice:  "  Father, 
if  it  be  possible,  let  this  chalice  pass  away  from 
Me" — neither  is  He  heard  this  time.  He  prays  a 
third  time  with  greater  intensity,  and  not  till  then 
did  the  Angel  come  to  comfort  and  strengthen  Him. 

Poor  miserable  creatures,  wretched  sinners  as  we 
are  !  What  an  exalted  opinion  have  we  not  of  our- 
selves !  The  heavenly  Father  lets  His  only  begot- 
ten, well-beloved,  most  innocent  and  afflicted  Son, 
like  a  poor  beggar,  knock  three  times  at  His  door, 
before  He  opens — and  we  think  we  have  done 
enough  when  we  have  petitioned  a  few  times  at  the 
gate  of  heaven  !  We  so  readily  complain  of  being 
unmercifully  treated  by  God  if  He  does  not  come  at 
once  to  our  aid,  and  despairing,  as  it  were,  of  being 
heard,  we  give  up  praying  altogether.  "  Truly, 
this  is  not  the  right  way  to  pray,"  says  St.  John 
Chrysostom  ;  "  let  us  bewail  our  indolence  in  pray- 
ing ;  for  thirty-eight  years  had  the  sick  man,  spo- 
ken of  in  the  Gospel,  (John  chap,  iv.),  waited  to 
be  cured,  and  yet  his  desire  had  not  been  accom- 
plished. Nor  had  it  happened  thus  through  his 
negligence  ;  yet,  for  all  that,  he  did  not  despair  ; 
but  if  we  pray  for  ten  days  perhaps,  and  are  not 
heard,  we  think  it  is  of  no  use  to  pray  any  lon- 
ger."    (Homil.  35,  in  Joan.) 

We  must  then  follow  the  advice  of  St.  Gregory, 
i   he  comments  on,  (Ps,  cxxix.),  "Let  us  be 
21 


238  ON   THE   CONDITIONS   AND 

assiduous  in  prayer.,  and  importunate  in  asking  ;  let 
us  beware  of  growing  remiss  in  it,  when  it  appears 
the  Lord  will  not  hear  us  ;  let  us  be  robbers,  as  it 
were,  doing  violence  to  heaven.  What  robbery  can 
be  more  meritorious,  what  violence  more  glorious? 
Happy  violence  by  which  God  is  not  offended,  but 
appeased,  by  which  sin  is  not  multiplied,  but  di- 
minished." If  we  wish,  then,  to  pray  aright,  we 
must  not  only  commence  to  pray  but  must  also  con- 
tinue our  prayer,  especially  if  we  ask  something  con- 
ducive to  our  own  spiritual  welfare,  or  to  that  of  our 
neighbor.  Most  of  men  fail  in  this  point,  and  this 
is  the  reason  why  their  prayer  is  of  such  little  efficacy. 
Never  allow  yourself  to  become  guilty  of  voluntary 
despondency.  (t  Keep  firm  to  the  promise  of  Jesus 
Christ,"  says  St.  John  Chrysostom  ;  "  never  cease 
praying  until  you  have  received.  If  you  present 
yourself  before  the  Lord  with  this  firm  determina- 
tion, saying:  "I  will  not  leave  Thee  till  Thou 
hast  granted  my  prayer,  you  will  receive  most  as- 
suredly." (Horn.  24,  in  Mass,  c.  vii.)  Let  us  say 
with  the  Apostle:  "  Why  should  I  not  be  able  to 
do  what  others  have  done  ?"  What  so  many  could 
obtain  by  their  perseverance  in  prayer,  why  should 
we  not  be  able,  by  our  perseverance,  to  obtain 
whatsoever  we  ask  ?  What  a  shame  will  it  not  be 
for  us  to  see,  on  the  judgment-day,  how  the  Saints 
of  heaven,  by  their  perseverance  in  prayer,  have 
become  what  they  are,  whilst  we,  for  our  want  of 


QUALITIES    OF   PRAYER.  239 

perseverance  in  prayer,  shall  appear  so  very  unlike 
unto  them  !  Most  assuredly,  Almighty  God  will 
manifest  His  power,  goodness  and  mercy  in  us,  as 
much  as  He  has  done  in  all  the  Saints,  provided  we 
pray  for  it  with  the  perseverance  of  the  Saints. 

Co- 

CHAPTE 


HOW   TO    ACQUIRE   THE   SPIRIT   OF   PRAYER. 

"I  will  pour  out  upon  the  house  of  David,  and  upon   the  inhabi- 
tants of  Jerusalejn,  the  spirit  of  grace  and  of  prayers." 

[Zacuarias  xii.  10. 

AFTER  having  heard  so  much  of  the  efficacy 
and  advantages  of  prayer,  you  must  doubtless 
be  anxious  to  know  how  you  can  acquire  that  spirit 
of  prayer  which  the  Saints  possessed,  and  which 
the  Lord  promised  to  pour  out  upon  the  inhabitants 
of  Jerusalem.  I  answer,  as  St.  Francis  de  Sales 
did  when  asked  what  one  should  do  to  obtain  the 
love  of  God:  "We  must  love  Him,"  said  he; 
so  in  the  same  way,  I  say,  we  must  pray  in  order 
to  learn  how  to  pray.     No  art,  no  language,  no 


240  HOW   TO   ACQUIRE  THE 

trade  can  be  learned  without  the  practice  of  it ;  so 
prayer,  too,  must  be  learned  by  the  frequent  exer- 
cise thereof.  It  was  in  this  way  the  Saints  obtained 
the  spirit  of  prayer.  St.  Teresa  was  accustomed  to 
offer  herself  to  God  fifty  times  in  the  day.  St. 
Martha  used  to  pray,  kneeling  one  hundred  times 
in  the  day  and  one  hundred  times  in  the  night.  St. 
Francis  Borgias  also  was  accustomed  to  pray,  kneel- 
ing one  hundred  times  in  the  day.  St.  Philip  Neri 
made  a  kind  of  rosary  of  the  words  which  the 
Church  uses  in  reciting  the  Divine  Office  :  "  O 
God,  come  to  my  aid  ;  0  Lord,  make  haste  to  help 
me."  He  recited  this  rosary  sixty-three  times  in 
the  day,  and  enjoined  his  penitents  to  do  the  same. 
St.  Gertrude  repeated  the  third  petition  of  the  "Our 
Father"  :  "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
heaven,"  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  times  a  day. 
Blessed  Leonard  of  Port  Maurice,  recommended 
himself  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  two  hundred 
times  in  the  day.  We  read  of  St.  Francis  de  Sales, 
that  by  means  of  very  frequent  ejaculatory  prayers, 
he  always  kept  himself  in  the  presence  of  God,  even 
amidst  his  many  pressing  occupations.  Blessed 
Brother  Gerard  was  often  beaten  by  his  foreman 
who  could  not  endure  to  see  him  praying  even  whilst 
at  work.  It  is  related  of  St.  Elizabeth  of  Hun- 
gary, that  when  she  played  as  a  young  girl,  with 
other  children  of  her  age,  and  her  turn  came  to  sit 
down  and  rest,  she   would  profit  by   these  leisure 


SPIRIT   OF  PRAYER.  241 

moments  to  say  a  "  Hail  Mary."  Of  another 
Saint,  it  is  related,  that  for  thirty  years  he  said  no 
other  prayer  than  "  Lord,  have  mercy  on  me!" 
and  at  the  end  of  this  time  the  Lord  poured  out 
His  mercy  upon  him  most  abundantly,  bestowing 
on  him  a  high  degree  of  contemplation,  and  raising 
him  to  a  state  of  eminent  sanctity.  Blessed  Leon- 
ard of  Port  Maurice  used  to  say,  we  should  not 
allow  a  moment  to  pass  without  repeating  the 
words:  "  Have  mercy  on  me!  oh  Jesus,  have 
mercy  on  me  !"  He  relates  that  he  knew  a  man 
who  repeated  this  prayer:  "  Jesus,  have  mercy  on 
me  !"  three  hundred  times  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 
We  read  of  the  Apostle  St.  Bartholomew  that  he 
used  to  offer  to  God  two  hundred  adorations  daily. 
In  the  Roman  Breviary  we  read  of  St.  Patrick,  that 
when  guarding  the  cattle,  he  prayed  to  God  a  hun- 
dred times  in  the  day  and  a  hundred  times  in 
the  night,  and  when  a  Bishop,  he  daily  said  the 
psalter,  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty  psalms, 
and  many  canticles  and  hymns,  besides  two  hun- 
dred other  different  prayers  ;  he  also  made  three 
hundred  genuflections  every  day,  in  adoration  of 
the  Blessed  Trinity,  and  the  sign  of  the  cross  one 
hundred  times  at  each  canonical  hour.  Before  St. 
Margaret  of  Cortona  had  attained  to  contempla- 
tion, her  devout  exercises  consisted  simply  of  Pa- 
ter Nosters  ;  but  so  many  were  they  in  number, 
that  they  daily  exceeded  a  thousand.  She  said 
21* 


242  HOW   TO   ACQUIRE  TIIB 

three  hundred  in  honor  of  the  Blessed  Trinity ; 
one  hundred  in  honor  of  the  great  Mother  of  God  ; 
one  hundred  for  each  of  her  kindred  most  "beloved 
"by  her  ;  one  hundred  for  her  sins  ;  one  hundred  for 
the  Franciscan  Order ;  one  hundred  for  the  people 
of  Cortona  ;  one  hundred  for  those  who  injured  her, 
and  many  hundred  more  for  the  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
for  all  ecclesiastical  orders,  for  sinners,  heretics, 
schismatics,  Turks,  Jews,  etc.  St.  Alphonsus,  he- 
fore  going  to  sleep,  would  make  the  following  good 
acts :  Ten  acts  of  love  ;  ten  acts  of  confidence  ;  ten 
acts  of  sorrow  ;  ten  acts  of  conformity  to  the  will  of 
God  ;  ten  acts  of  love  to  Jesus  Christ ;  ten  acts  of 
love  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  ;  ten  acts  of  love  to 
Jesus  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament ;  ten  acts  of  confi- 
dence in  Jesus  Christ  ;  ten  acts  of  confidence  in  the 
Blessed  Virgin  ;  ten  acts  of  resignation  to  suffer- 
ing ;  ten  acts  of  ahandonment  to  God ;  ten  acts  of 
abandonment  to  Jesus  Christ  ;  ten  acts  of  abandon- 
ment to  Mary,  and  ten  prayers  to  know  and  do  the 
will  of  God.  If  this  Saint  made  so  many  good 
acts  previous  to  going  to  bed,  how  many  must  he 
not  have  made  in  the  course  of  the  entire  day  ? 
But  how  is  it  possible,  you  will  say,  for  one  to  pray 
so  much  in  the  course  of  the  day  ?  St.  Alphonsus 
answers:  "  Give  me  a  soul  that  truly  loves  God, 
and  it  will  tell  you."  It  is  easy  for  love  to  think 
of  the  Beloved  and  to  converse  frequently  and 
familiarly  with  Him.     But  I  cannot  pray,  you  will 


SPIRIT   OF   PRAYER.  243 

say,  as  much  as  the  Saints  did  ;  it  would  be  neces- 
sary for  me  to  be  a  Saint  myself;  if  I  cannot  ac- 
quire the  spirit  of  prayer  unless  I  do  as  much  as 
they  did,  I  give  up  all  hope  of  ever  obtaining  it. 
Do  not  be  alarmed,  but  remember  that  neither  did 
the  Saints  know  all  at  once  how  to  pray  so  well  and 
so  much  ;  most  of  them  learned  it  by  slow  degrees. 
The  practice  of  prayer  was  not  familiar  to  them  in 
the  beginning  ;  but,  perseveringly  increasing  it, 
they  gradually  acquired  that  great  facility  which 
raised  them  to  contemplation.  As  the  speaking  of 
a  language,  the  exercise  of  a  trade,  or  an  art,  be- 
come more  easy  in  proportion  to  the  practice  of 
them,  so  does  the  practice  and  exercise  of  prayer, 
The  following  example  is  a  striking  illustration  of 
this  :  Father  Pergmayr,  S.  J.,  relates  in  his  wri- 
tings, vol.  3,  of  Father  Didaucs  Martinez,  S.  J.,  fa- 
mous for  his  sanctity,  many  miracles  and  thousands 
of  conversions  wrought  among  the  heathens  in  Peru, 
that  this  holy  man  was  so  constantly  united  with 
God  that  he  would  spend  whole  nights  in  prayer,  in 
the  open  air,  in  which  God  communicated  Himself 
so  much  to  him  that  this  Apostle  of  the  Lord  would 
often  be  seen  raised  in  the  air  above  the  highest 
trees,  surrounded  by  a  heavenly  splendor,  between 
two  columns  of  fire.  But  he  was  not  satisfied  with 
this  prayer  of  the  night,  and  being  overburdened 
with  labor  during  the  day,  he  satisfied  his  great 
ardoi  for  prayer  by  constant  ejaculations,  which  be- 


244  HOW   TO   ACQUIRE   THE 

came  so  frequent  that  they  exceeded  four  thousand, 
sometimes  even  five  thousand  a  day.  He  attained 
to  this  great  union  with  God  by  a  small  beginning. 
On  entering  the  novitiate,  he  resolved  to  raise  his 
heart  to  God  seven  times  in  the  day.  After  awhile 
he  increased  this  number  of  ejaculations  to  one  hun- 
dred, and  before  the  end  of  his  novitiate,  to  five 
hundred  every  day.  At  last  this  manner  of  pray- 
ing became  so  familiar  to  him  that  his  ejaculations 
were  from  four  to  five  thousand  every  day. 

Eest  assured  that  most  of  the  Saints  made  use  of 
frequent  ejaculations  of  the  heart  as  one  of  the 
most  efficacious  means  to  acquire  the  spirit  of 
prayer,  though  there  is  no  mention  made  of  it  in 
their  lives ;  and  you,  too,  will  be  greatly  advanced 
in  the  spirit  of  prayer  by  this  means,  provided  you 
use  it  as  the  Saints  did,  with  increasing  fervor  and 
perseverance.  But  how  can  I,  you  will  say,  count 
my  ejaculations  and  aspirations  of  the  heart?  It 
is  too  troublesome  !  I  answer,  if  you  truly  love 
your  soul,  you  will  soon  find  out  a  way  to  count 
them,  just  as  well  as  a  merchant  knows  how  to 
count  every  cent  he  spends  or  receives.  For  this 
purpose  you  can  make  use  of  beads  like  those  of  St. 
Philip  Neri,  or  you  can  count  your  ejaculations  by 
the  hours  of  the  day,  making  a  stated  number  of 
them  during  each  hour;  for  until  you  have  acquired 
the  salutary  and  holy  habit  of  praying  everywhere 
and  always,  it  will  be  advisable  for  you  to  count 


SPIRIT   OF   PRAYER.  245 

your  ejaculations,  in  order  to  be  confident  whether 
you  advance  or  retrograde  in  prayer.  Should  you 
have  resolved  to  say  seven  times  in  the  day,  the 
"Our  Father;"  or,  "  Lord,  come  to  my  aid;"  or, 
"  Jesus,  have  mercy  on  me  ;"  or,  "  Lord,  Thy  holy 
will  be  done  ;"  or,  "  Lord,  do  as  Thou  pleasest  with 
me;"  or,  "  Jesus,  make  me  love  Thee  more  and 
more  ;"  or,  "  Jesus,  pour  out  upon  me  the  spirit  of 
prayer,"  or  some  other  aspiration  with  which  you 
may  be  inspired,  you  should  be  careful  to  make 
the  number  of  ejaculations  you  have  enjoined  on 
yourself,  and  when  you  have  acquired  a  facility  in 
making  the  proposed  number  in  an  hour,  increase 
this  number  by  five,  and  after  having  succeeded  in 
regularly  making  twelve  an  hour,  increase  again 
this  number,  and  so  go  on  until  this  manner  of 
prayer  has  become  a  second  nature  to  you,  as  it 
were,  and  an  ind'ispen sable  want  of  your  soul. 
Should  you,  in  the  beginning,  be  unable  to  make 
these  ejaculatory  prayers  with  the  heart  only,  be 
careful  to  make  them  with  the  fervor  of  the  will, 
and  by  degrees  you  will,  like  the  Saints,  pass 
from  vocal  prayer  to  a  better  and  easier  kind 
of  prayer,  viz :  that  of  the  heart.  And  in  order 
the  sooner  to  accomplish  this,  you  must  imitate  a 
person  who  wishes  to  learn  a  language  or  music  in 
a  short  time.  Now  what  does  this  person  do  to 
succeed  in  his  design  ?  He  refrains  from  everything 
that  does  not  positively  concern   him,  caring  only 


246  HOW   TO   ACQUIRE   THE 

for  what  he  so  much  desires  soon  to  learn  and 
understand  ;  to  this  all  his  thoughts  are  directed 
day  and  night.  Now,  if  you  wish  to  learn  in  a 
short  time  how  to  pray  well,  you,  too,  must  let 
everything  alone  that  is  not  your  business,  caring 
and  striving  only  to  learn  the  science  of  the  Saints. 
It  is  certainly  not  your  business  to  gratify  your 
natural  inclinations,  desires  and  passions  ;  there- 
fore let  them  alone.  To  attach  your  heart  to  the 
enjoyments,  comforts  and  pleasures  of  this  world  is 
surely  not  your  business  ;  therefore,  refrain  from 
them.  To  wish  to  be  praised,  honored  and  to  do 
your  own  will  in  everything,  is  not  your  business  ; 
therefore  mortify  this  desire  ;  otherwise  your  case 
will  be  the  same  as  that  of  a  man  who  undertakes  all 
sorts  of  business,  and  succeeds  in  none  of  them  per- 
fectly, because  the  one  is  an  obstacle  to  the  good  suc- 
cess of  the  other.  To  wish  to  hear,  to  see  and  to 
enjoy  everything  in  this  world — to  love  and  esteem 
all  that  it  loves  and  esteems,  is  to  put  great  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  your  sanctifi cation  and  of  acquiring 
that  spirit  of  prayer  which  the  Saints  possessed  ; 
you  will  always  have  to  complain  of  having  but 
little  desire  to  pray,  and  of  feeling  a  great  reluc- 
tance to  prayer,  of  performing  it  with  much  luke- 
warmness,  with  many  distractions,  of  almost  de- 
spairing of  any  success  or  progress  in  it,  but  no 
one  will  be  able  to  afford  you  any  consolation  as 
long   as   you    do    not   make  serious  endeavors   to 


SPIRIT   OF   PRAYER.  2-±T 

detach  your  heart  from  everything  in  this  world. 
Can  you  press  sweet  cider  from  sour  apples,  gather 
grapes  from  thorns,  or  figs  from  thistles  ?  Such  as 
is  the  corn  put  into  the  mill,  such,  also,  will  he  the 
flour.  In  vain  do  we  expect  our  heart  to  con- 
ceive many  holy  desires  and  produce  fervent  aspi- 
rations and  ejaculatory  prayers,  if  it  is  continually 
occupied  with  vain  and  frivolous  ohjects,  wholly 
unworthy  of  the  heart  and  soul  of  a  Christian. 
As  a  farmer  will  reap  what  he  has  sowed,  so  will 
your  heart  and  mind  he  occupied  in  the  time  of 
prayer  with  those  worldly  ohjects  for  which  you 
cherish  any  disorderly  affection.  Your  heart  will 
he  where  your  treasure  is,  says  our  Lord  in  the 
Gospel.  The  devil,  well  aware  of  this  truth,  in 
order  to  prevent  you  from  praying,  or  from  making 
any  essential  progress  in  this  most  sublime  occupa- 
tion of  man,  does  all  in  his  power  to  present  your 
"  Benjamin "  your  most  beloved  object  to  your 
mind  at  the  time  of  prayer.  A  superintendent  of  a 
very  important  work  will  always  endeavor  to  pre- 
vent, as  much  as  possible,  all  his  workmen  from 
talking  to  others,  or  from  doing  anything  but  what 
lis  them  to  do.  You,  too,  must  forbid  your 
heart  and  mind  to  be  occupied  with  what  does  not 
concern  you,  and  to  apply  only  to  the  acquisition  of 
the  spirit  of  prayer.  Forbid  all  your  Benjamins  to 
to  y«.u  in  thifl  holy  exercise.  Be  determined 
and  inexorable    not  to  permit  it,  imitating  Count 


248  HOW   TO    ACQUIRE  THE 

Rougemont,  of  whom  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  relates 
the  following:  "I  knew,"  he  says,  "in  the  Pro- 
vince of  Bresse  the  Chevalier  Rougemont,  who 
was  once  so  famous  for  his  duels,  in  which  he  had 
wounded  and  killed  an  almost  incredible  number. 
After  his  conversion  to  a  very  edifying  life,  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  visiting  him  at  his  own  residence, 
where  he  commenced  to  speak  to  me  about  his 
devout  exercises  and  practices  of  virtue,  and  among 
others,  of  his  complete  independence  of  and  detach- 
ment from  creatures.  "I  feel  assured,"  said  he  to 
me,  "  that  if  I  am  perfectly  detached  from  creatures, 
I  will  be  most  perfectly  united  to  my  Lord  and 
God  ;  for  this  reason  I  often  examine  my  conscience, 
asking  myself  if  there  is  anything  to  which  I  feel 
any  attachment,  whether  to  myself,  to  my  relatives, 
friends  or  neighbors  ;  to  the  riches  and  comforts  of 
life  ;  to  any  passion  or  disorderly  desire  whatsoever 
that  might  prevent  me  from  being  perfectly  united 
to  and  resting  entirely  in  God  alone.  I  commence 
to  pray  to  God  to  enable  me  to  cut  down  and  root 
out  at  once  whatever  I  notice  to  be  an  obstacle  to 
my  perfect  union  with  Him."  "I  remember," 
continues  the  Saint,  "a  remarkable  act  of  his,  which 
he  himself  related  to  me,  which  shows  how  earnestly 
he  went  to  work  to  gain  a  complete  detachment 
from  everything,  and  which  I  can  never  think  of 
without  admiration.  As  he  was  riding  along  on 
horseback  one  day,  he  stopped  to  reflect  and  find 


SPIRIT   OF   PRAYER  249 

out  whether,  after  lie  had  made  an  oblation  of  him- 
self to  God,  there  was  still  something  to  which 
he  might  have  at  least  some  trivial  attachment. 
After  having  most  carefully  examined  all  his  oc- 
cupations, recreations,  honors  and  even  the  least 
affections  and  inclinations  of  his  heart,  he  noticed 
his  sword,  for  which  he  still  entertained  some  affec- 
tion. Why  do  you  wear  this  sword?  he  said  to 
himself.  But  what  evil  has  it  done  you?  Leave  it 
where  it  is  !  It  has  rendered  you  many  great  ser- 
vices, and  enabled  you  to  save  yourself  in  thou- 
sands of  dangers.  Should  you  again  be  attacked, 
without  it,  surely,  you  will  be  lost.  But  should  you 
again  have  the  occasion  of  a  quarrel,  would  you 
have  the  self-command  to  keep  it  where  it  is,  and 
not  offend  God  again  by  the  abuse  of  this  sword  ? 
My  God !  what  must  I  do  ?  Shall  I  still  love  the 
instrument  of  my  confusion  and  of  so  many  sins  ? 
Alas  !  I  see,  my  heart  is  yet  attached  to  this  sword  I 
So  mean  I  will  not  be,  as  to  allow  myself  to  be 
overcome  by  this  miserable  instrument !  This 
said,  he  alighted  from  his  horse,  took  a  stone  and 
broke  his  sword  into  pieces.  He  acknowledged  to 
me  that  by  this  heroic  victory  over  himself  he  felt 
lii^  heart  completely  detached  from  everything, 
caring  no  more  for  anything  in  this  world  and  feel- 
ing most  powerfully  drawn  to  love  God  alone  above 
all  things.  Behold,  gentlemen,  said  St.  Vincent  in 
conclusion,  how  happy  we  should  be,  and  what  pro- 
22 


250  HOW   TO   ACQUIRE   THE 

gress  we  should  make  in  virtue  if,  like  this  noble- 
man, we  would  purify  our  hearts  from  all  earthly 
affections.  If  our  hearts  were  completely  detached 
from  all  creatures,  how  soon  would  our  souls  be 
united  to  God."  Your  facility  in  prayer  and  your 
attraction  for  it  will  increase  in  proportion  to  the 
efforts  you  make  to  detach  yourself  from  all  earthly 
things,  especially  from  yourself.  All  the  Saints 
have  experienced  and  acknowledged  this  truth. 
Christoph  Gonzalve,  S.  J.,  a  disciple  of  blessed 
Balthazar  Alvarez,  was  asked  one  day  by  a  com- 
panion by  what  means  he  had  obtained  the  extra- 
ordinary gift  of  prayer  ;  he  answered  :  "  This  did 
not  cost  me  very  much,  I  had  only  to  follow  the  in- 
spirations of  God,  to  mortify  and  renounce  entirely 
my  desire  of  vain  glory  in  scientific  matters."  He 
commenced  his  philosophical  studies  with  an  unu- 
sual facility,  by  which  means  he  gained  a  great  pre- 
eminence over  all  his  companions.  This  superiority 
was  a  strong  lever  to  ambition  and  a  source  of  con- 
stant temptation  to  him,  and  in  order  to  escape 
these  dangerous  snares  securely,  he  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing means  without,  however,  neglecting  his 
studies  :  to  cause  his  companions  to  lose  the  high 
opinion  they  had  of  his  superior  talents,  he  would 
often  ask  them  an  explanation  of  certain  points 
which  he  really  understood  better  than  they  did. 
In  controversies,  he  would  give  his  opinion,  but  ap- 
peared to  be  at  a  loss  how  to  corroborate  it ;  when 


SPIRIT   OF   PRAYER.  251 

objections  were  made  he  would  answer  the  first,  but 
for  the  second  he  would  pretend  to  have  no  answer  ; 
the  consequence  was  that  his  professors  would  give 
the  most  difficult  and  most  honorable  thesis  to 
others,  and  to  him  what  was  very  easy  and  not  pro- 
curing any  honor  ;  this  was  what  he  desired  and 
aimed  at.  By  this  artifice  of  humility,  of  which 
his  professors  as  well  as  his  companions  were  igno- 
rant, he  lost  with  them  all  his  renown  for  superi- 
ority of  talents,  and  he  gained  a  complete  victory 
over  self-love  and  ambition,  in  recompense  for  which 
God  bestowed  upon  him  the  inestimable  gift  of 
sublime  contemplation  and  great  familiarity  with 
Him  in  prayer.  Thus  it  is  true  what  the  Lord  said 
by  the  Prophet  Isaias  :  "If  thou  turn  away  thy 
foot  from  doing  thy  own  will,  .  .  .  thou  shalt 
be  delighted  in  the  Lord,  and  I  will  lift  thee  up 
above  the  high  places  of  the  earth  and  will  feed 
thee  with  the  inheritance  of  Jacob  thy  Father.  For 
the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it.  (Isaias  lviii. 
13,  14.)  Now,  this  promise  of  the  Lord  will  come 
true  in  your  regard  also,  provided  you  comply  with 
the  conditions,  viz :  to  purify  your  heart  from  all 
attachment  to  earthly  enjoyments,  ambitions,  and 
desires,  but  especially  from  all  attachment  to  your 
own  will  and  judgment.  "Yes,"  says  St. Francis 
de  Sales,  "  God  is  ready  to  grant  you  the  gift  of 
rae  soon  as  He  sees  you  empty  of  your  own 
self-will.     If  you  are  very  humble,  He  will  not  fail 


252  HOW   TO   ACQUIRE  TUB 

to  pour  it  out  upon  your  soul.  God  will  fill  your 
vessel  with  His  ointments  as  soon  as  it  is  empty  of 
the  ointments  of  this  world,  that  is  as  soon  as  every 
desire  of  yours  for  earthly  objects  has  made  room 
for  that  of  serving  and  loving  Him  alone." 

The  use  of  frequent  and  fervent  ejaculatory  prayers, 
and  the  complete  detachment  of  your  heart  from  all 
creatures  are,  it  is  true,  most  powerful  means  to  ac- 
quire the  spirit  of  prayer,  but  in  order  more  quickly 
to  obtain  this  inexpressible  gift,  we  must  frequently 
beg  it  of  God ;  for  this  grace  of  prayer  is,  according 
to  St.  Francis  de  Sales,  no  water  of  this  earth,  but 
of  heaven,  therefore  we  cannot  obtain  it  by  any 
effort  of  our  own  ;  although  it  is  true  we  should 
dispose  ourselves  for  the  reception  of  it  with  the 
greatest  care.  This  care  should,  indeed,  be  great, 
but  humble  and  calm.  We  must  keep  our  heart 
open,  waiting  for  the  fall  of  this  heavenly  dew,  and 
it  will  fall  so  much  the  sooner  the  more  earnestly 
and  perseveringly  we  pray  and  sigh  for  it  every 
day,  especially  while  assisting  at  the  "divine  sac- 
rifice of  Mass,  receiving  holy  Communion  and  vis- 
iting our  most  loving  Lord  in  the  adorable  sacra- 
ment of  the  Altar,  saying  to  Him  :  "  Lord,  teach 
me  how  to  pray  ;  grant  me  the  spirit  of  prayer,  and 
a  great  love  for  this  holy  exercise  ;  make  me  often 
think  of  Thee,  and  find  my  greatest  pleasure  and 
happiness  in  conversing  with  Thee  ;  let  everything 
of  this  world  become  disgustful  to  me."     The  more 


SPIRIT   OF   PRAYER.  253 

frequently  and  earnestly  you  make  these,  or  similar 
petitions  to  obtain  the  spirit  of  prayer,  the  more 
you  will  receive  of  this  inestimable  gift  of  the 
Lord,  according  to  the  infallible  promise  of  Jesus 
Christ, — "  All  things  whatsoever  you  ask  in  prayer, 
believing,  you  shall  receive."  (Malt.  xxi.  22.) 
Continue  thus  asking  until  the  Lord  accomplishes 
in  you  what  He  has  promised  by  the  Prophet  Zach- 
arias :  "I  will  pour  out  upon  the  house  of  David 
and  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  the  spirit 
of  grace  and  of  prayers."  (Chap.  xii.  10).  You 
clearly  perceive  from  these  words  of  the  Prophet, 
that  this  gift  of  prayer  is  the  spirit  and  gift  of  the 
Lord  ;  you  must,  then,  endeavor  to  obtain  it,  more 
by  asking  it  of  the  Lord  with  great  humility,  fer- 
vor, confidence  and  perseverance,  than  by  impru- 
dent efforts  of  the  brain  and  mind.  Wait  patiently 
for  the  hour,  but  do  not  neglect  to  do  at  the  same 
time,  what  has  been  said  in  this  chapter,  and  then 
rest  assured  that  the  moment  will  come  in  which 
the  conversation  with  God  will  be  easier,  and  more 
familiar  to  you  than  the  conversation  with  your 
most  intimate  friend,  and  you  will  exclaim,  with  St. 
Augustine  :  "  What  is  more  excellent,  more  profi- 
table, more  sublime  and  sweeter  for  the  soul,  than 
prayer."  You  will,  with  Fathers  Sanchez  and 
Suarez,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  prefer  the  loss  of 
all  temporal  goods  to  that  of  one  hour  of  prayer, 
for  then  will  be  realized  in  you,  what  St.  Paul  says 
22* 


254  HOW   TO   ACQUIRE   THE 

in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans:  "  The  Spirit  also 
helpeth  our  infirmity ;  for  we  know  not  what  we 
should  pray  for  as  we  ought,  but  the  Spirit  Him- 
self asketh  for  us  with  unspeakable  groanings." 
(Chap.  viii.  26.)  Then  the  Holy  Ghost  Himself 
will  pray  in  you  and  with  you,  inspiring  such  peti- 
tions and  sighs  as  are  pleasing  to  and  heard  by 
Him.  And  when  the  Lord,  in  His  great  mercy, 
has  granted  you  this  admirable  gift,  daily  return 
Him  thanks  for  it,  and  profit  by  it,  both  for  your 
own  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare,  and  that  of  oth- 
ers, because  this  is  God's  will.  Say  often  with  the 
psalmist:  "  Take  not  Thy  holy  Spirit  from  me." 
(Ps.  1.  13.)  Lord,  never  withdraw  from  me  this 
spirit  of  grace  and  prayer,  send  me  any  other  pun- 
ishment for  my  sins  rather  than  this.  I  repeat 
again,  never  forget  to  be  thankful  for  this  gift, 
always  remembering  that  you  can  never  fully  un- 
derstand or  sufficiently  appreciate  it  until  after 
death  ;  for  in  it  are  included  all  the  gifts  and  graces 
of  the  Lord.  For  this  reason  you  must  be  very  desi- 
rous to  obtain  it,  and  take  every  possible  means  to 
acquire  it;  and  should  you  not  have  this  ardent 
desire  for  it,  you  must  beg  it  of  God  with  great  fer- 
vor and  perseverance ;  you  should  not  take  less 
pains,  care  and  trouble,  or  make  less  efforts  to  ob- 
tain this  great  gift  from  God,  than  a  good  student 
does  to  learn  a  language,  an  architect  to  erect  a 
costly  and  splendid  edifice,  or  a  general  to  gain  the 


SPIRIT   OF   PRAYER.  255 

victory  in  an  important  battle.  Would  to  God  you 
understood  this  great  and  inestimable  grace  as  per- 
fectly and  clearly  as  the  devil  does,  I  think  you 
would  take  as  much  trouble  to  acquire  it,  and  to 
preserve  it  when  acquired,  as  he  does  to  prevent  you 
from  receiving  it,  and  make  you  lose  it  when  in 
possession  of  it. 

This  sworn  arch-enemy  of  our  eternal  happiness 
will  suffer  you  to  perform  any  kind  of  good  works, 
such  as  fasting,  scourging  yourself,  wearing  hair- 
cloths, etc. _,  rather  than  see  you  striving  to  advance 
in  the  way  of  prayer ;  the  least  time  you  spend  in 
it  is  for  him  an  insupportable  torment.  Although 
he  leaves  you  quiet  at  all  other  times,  rest  assured 
that  in  the  time  of  prayer  he  will  use  all  his  power 
to  distract  and  disturb  you  in  some  way  or  other. 
In  order  to  prevent  you  from  praying  well,  he  will 
fill  your  mind  with  thoughts  and  imaginations  of 
the  strangest  and  most  curious  kind,  so  much  so, 
that  what  you  would  never  think  of  at  any  other 
time  will  come  to  your  mind  at  the  time  of  prayer, 
in  such  a  manner  even  that  it  would  seem  you 
came  to  prayer  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  be 
distracted  and  assaulted  by  a  whole  army  of  the- 
most  frightful  temptations,  or  he  will  make  you 
feel  peevish,  and  try  to  persuade  you  that  prayer 
il  t lie  business  of  old  women  who  have  nothing  else 
to  do,  but  as  for  you  that  it  is  only  a  loss  of  time, 
which  could  be  spent  much  more  profitably  in  some. 


256  HOW   TO   ACQUIRE   THE 

other  way.  If  you  are  a  priest,  a  religious,  ot  a 
student  of  theology,  he  will  artfully  represent  to  you 
how  necessary  and  profitable  it  is  to  possess  great 
learning,  for  the  salvation  of  souls  and  the  greater 
honor  and  glory  of  God,  in  order  that  the  applica- 
tion to  study  may  become  your  principal  occupa- 
tion, and  that  you  may  consider  prayer  as  something 
merely  accessory.  If  a  Superior  in  a  conference,  a 
Confessor  in  the  confessional,  or  a  Priest  in  a  ser- 
mon, after  the  example  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
His  Apostles,  and  all  the  Saints,  and  in  accordance 
with  the  spirit  of  the  Church,  repeatedly  insists  upon 
the  necessity  of  prayer,  the  devil  will  not  be  slow 
to  suggest :  0,  that  Superior,  that  Priest,  knows 
but  one  rule,  but  one  obligation  ;  he  does  not  care 
for  science,  or  consider  the  country  and  times  in 
which  we  are  living ;  if  you  do  what  he  tells,  you 
will  never  be  anything  but  a  real  hypocrite  and 
devotee.  Should  this  malignant  enemy  not  suc- 
ceed by  these  and  similar  artifices  to  prevent  certain 
souls  from  prayer,  he  will  then  try  other  means.  To 
St.  Anthony,  the  hermit,  when  at  prayer,  he  would 
appear  in  the  most  hideous  forms  to  frighten  him. 
He  would  take  St.  Frances  of  Rome,  shake  her  and 
throw  her  on  the  ground.  When  St.  Eose  of  Lima 
was  at  prayer,  he  would  come  and  make  a  great 
noise,  like  taking  a  basket  and  jumping  about  with 
it.  He  would  often  cast  large  hail-stones  upon  the 
two  holy  Brothers  Simplician  and   Roman,   when 


SPIRIT   OF  PRAYER.  25-7 

they  knelt  down  to  pray,  in  order  to  make  them 
give  up  prayer,  as  is  related  by  St.  Gregory  of  Tours. 
This  implacable  hatred  aud  incessant  war  of  Satan 
against  prayer  should  alone  be  sufficient  to  convince 
you  of  the  necessity,  importance,  utility  and  sub- 
limity of  this  holy  exercise,  and  at  the  same  time 
urge  you  on  to  apply  to  it  with  all  possible  dili- 
gence, that  you  might  the  sooner  acquire  the  spirit 
of  prayer.  Read  the  life  of  the  seraphic  St.  Teresa, 
that  great  mistress  of  prayer,  and  you  will  find  how 
she  struggled  for  eighteen  years  to  obtain  this  spirit 
of  prayer.  We  read  of  St.  Catherine  of  Bologna, 
that  when  she  was  Abbess,  one  of  her  daughters, 
seeing  that  her  whole  time  was  taken  up  with  busi- 
ness, or  by  the  intercourse  she  was  obliged  to  have 
witli  the  servants  and  strangers,  asked  her  how, 
with  her  weak  health,  she  could  endure  so  many 
fatigues  and  cares.  "  Know,  my  daughter,"  replied 
the  holy  Mother,  "and  be  assured  that  my  mind  is 
so  occupied  with  the  things  which  are  not  of  this 
world,  that  at  whatever  hour  or  moment  I  wish,  I 
am  immediately  united  to  God  and  separated  from 
everything  bodily  and  temporal.  I  confess  that 
this  has  cost  me  innumerable  sufferings,  for  the 
road  of  virtue  is  narrow  and  hard,  but,  by  perse- 
verance, prayer  lias  become  my  life,  my  nurse,  my 
mistress,  my  consolation,  my  refreshment,  my  rest,. 
my  fortune,  all  my  wealth.  It  is  prayer  that  has 
preserved  me  from  mortal  sins  and  rescued  me  from 


258  HOW   TO   ACQUIRE   T1IK 

death  ;  but  it  has  done  more  than  that ;  it  has  nour- 
ished me  as  a  tender  mother  nourishes  her  infant 
with  milk.  I  ought  to  add,  too,  that  prayer  drives 
away  all  distractions  and  temptations,  gives  us  the 
desire  of  doing  penance,  enkindles  in  us  the  Divine 
love,  and,  finally,  that  there  is  no  surer  road  to 
perfection." 

All  the  Saints,  were  they  to  come  down  from 
heaven,  would,  with  St.  Catherine  of  Bologna,  make 
the  same  acknowledgment.  The  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven suffers  violence,  and  those  that  use  this  holy 
violence  will  bear  it  away.  Let  us,  like  the  Saints, 
use  this  salutary  violence  in  regard  to  ourselves  ;  it 
will  prove  for  us  a  source  of  joy  for  all  eternity. 
Let  us,  in  imitation  of  the  Saints,  often  read  a 
chapter  on  the  great  necessity,  importance,  advan- 
tages and  efficacy  of  prayer,  thereby  to  encourage 
ourselves  constantly  to  persevere  and  increase  in 
fervor  for  this  holy  occupation  ;  let  us  be  firmly 
convinced  that  such  a  reading  will  be  more  profi- 
table to  us  than  any  other,  whatever  it  may  be. 
Let  us,  also,  often  make  our  particular  examen  of 
conscience  on  this  subject,  and  let  us  firmly  believe 
to  be  true  what  I  one  day  heard  said  by  a  very  holy 
Priest,  who  was  so  much  given  to  prayer  as  to  be 
often  elevated  in  the  air  whilst  in  the  act  of 
prayer:  "Any  one,"  said  he,  "  who  would  care- 
fully make  his  particular  examen  of  conscience  for 
half  a  year,  would  not  fail  to  attain  to  contempla- 


SPIRIT   OF   PRARER.  259 

tion."  Suppose  the  Lord  would  not  favor  you  in 
prayer  as  He  has  favored  certain  Saints,  yet  be  con- 
vinced you  will  always  receive  far  more  than  you 
deserve  ;  do  what  you  can,  and  leave  to  Him  to  do 
with  you  according  to  His  will.  "  He  hath  filled 
the  hungry  with  good  things,"  exclaimed  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary.  The  Lord  not  only  gives, 
but  overloads  with  His  gifts  those  who  have  a  real 
desire  for  them  ;  join  the  deed  to  your  desires  for 
them  by  making  use  of  the  means  here  laid  down 
to  acquire  them,  and  rest  assured  God  will  deal 
with  you  in  a  most  liberal  manner,  as  is  peculiar  to 
His  Paternal  Heart.  You  will  experience  what  one 
of  my  fellow-students  has  experienced,  who  said  to 
me  one  day:  ic Since  I  have  given  myself  up  to- 
holy  prayer,  I  am  quite  a  different  creature." 
Would  to  God  you  had  a  right  heart  for  all  that 
has  been  said,  and  did  truly  relish  it !  If  you  but 
knew  the  gift  of  God  you  would  soon  see  how  sweet 
the  Lord  is  to  those  who  are  given  up  to  prayer. 
You  will  most  assuredly  find  Him  in  this  holy  ex- 
ercise, for  He  opens  to  those  who  knock  and  gives 
to  those  that  ask.  Give  it  a  fair  trial.  Say  with 
David :  "  One  thing  I  have  asked  of  the  Lord  ; 
this  will  I  seek  after,"  (Ps.  xxvi.  4,)  viz:  this  gift 
of  prayer,  and  I  will  beg  and  pray  for  it  until  it 
shall  be  granted  to  me. 


260  EULOGIUM   ON    PRAYER, 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


EULOGIUM   ON   PRAYER, 


AS  there  is  nothing  more  necessary  or  more 
profitable  to  man  than  prayer,  the  Saints  have 
lavished  most  profuse  eulogies  upon  this  holy  exer- 
cise. St.  John  Climachus  writes  (gradu.  28  initio): 
11  Prayer,  considered  in  its  nature  or  quality,  is  a 
familiar  conversation  and  union  with  God  ;  consid- 
ered in  its  efficacy,  it  is  the  preservation  of  the 
world,  the  reconciliation  with  God,  the  mother  of 
tears,  the  companion  on  journeys,  the  propitiation 
for  sins  ;  a  bridge  over  the  high  waters  of  tempta- 
tion ;  a  bulwark  against  all  assaults  of  afflictions  : 
the  suppression  and  extinction  of  wars  ;  the  office 
of  the  Angels ;  the  nourishment  of  all  souls  ;  the 
anticipation  of  future  joy  ;  a  perpetual  occupation, 
the  source  of  all  virtues,  the  channel  of  all  graces." 
Not  satisfied  with  these  praises,  he  adds  still  greater 
and  more  important  ones  :  "  Prayer  is  the  lever  of 
the  spiritual  life ;  the  medicine  of  the  soul  ;  the 
light  of  the  understanding  ;  the  expeller  of  de- 
spair ;  the  ground-pillar  of  Christian  hope ;  the 
solution  of  melancholy  and  sadness  ;  the  riches  of 


EULOGICM    ON    PRAYER.  261 

monks  ;  the  treasure  of  hermits  ;  the  cessation  ot 
anger  ;  a  mirror  to  show  the  progress  in  the  spirit- 
ual life  ;  the  thermometer  of  the  soul  ;  a  declara- 
tion of  the  dispositions  of  the  heart ;  a  moral  cer- 
tainty of  heavenly  glory."  To  these  eulogies  on 
prayer  are  added  (Auct.  serm,  ad.  Fratres  in  eremo 
apud  St.  Aug.  serm.  22)  :  "  Holy  prayer  is  the 
column  of  all  virtues  ;  a  ladder  to  God  ;  the  sup- 
port of  widows  ;  the  foundation  of  faith  ;  the  crown 
of  religious  ;  the  sweetness  of  the  married  life." 
To  these  praises  of  prayer,  St.  Augustine  adds  oth- 
ers :  "Prayer  is  the  protection  of  holy  souls;  a 
consolation  for  the  Guardian  Angel  ;  an  insup- 
portable torment  to  the  devil  ;  a  most  acceptable 
homage  to  God  ;  the  best  and  most  perfect  praise 
for  penitents  and  religious ;  the  greatest  honor 
and  glory  ;  the  preserver  of  spiritual  health." 
(Aug.  ad  Probam.)  "  Prayer,"  says  St.  Ephrem, 
"  is  the  counter-poison  of  pride  ;  the  antidote  to 
the  passion  of  hatred ;  the  best  rule  in  making  just 
laws ;  the  best  and  most  powerful  means  to  govern 
aright ;  the  standard  and  trophy  in  war  ;  a  strong- 
hold for  peace  ;  the  seal  of  virginity  ;  the  guard  of 
nuptial  fidelity;  the  safeguard  of  travellers;  the 
Guardian  Angel  during  sleep  ;  the  source  of  fer- 
tility for  the  farmer  ;  a  safe  harbor  in  the  storms  of 
this  life  ;  a  city  of  refuge  for  criminals  ;  the  source 
of  all  true  joy  :  the  best  friend  and  physician  of 
the  dying."  (Tract  de  Orat.)  "  Prayer,"  says 
23 


262  EULOGIUM   ON   PRAYER. 

Cornelius  a  Lapide,  "is  the  transfiguration  of  the 
soul."  Prayer,  I  add,  is,  moreover,  the  paradise  of 
the  soul  ;  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant ;  a  wonder-work- 
ing rod  of  Moses  ;  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  a  pil- 
lar of  fire  by  night ;  a  Piscina  Probatica,  or  pond  of 
healing-water,  wherein  whoever  descends  is  healed 
of  whatsoever  spiritual  infirmity  he  may  lie  under  ; 
an  impregnable  fortress  ;  the  milk  of  little  children  ; 
the  crosier  of  Bishops  ;  the  strength,  courage  and 
persuasive  power  of  missionaries  ;  the  conversion  of 
the  world  ;  the  Sanctuary  of  Priests  ;  the  wisdom  of 
the  Saints  ;  the  true  key  of  heaven  ;  the  best  book 
of  sermons  ;  the  mother  of  good  counsel ;  the  school 
of  eloquence  ;  the  constancy  of  the  martyrs  ;  the 
compass  of  superiors  ;  the  interpreter  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  ;  the  justification  for  God.  If  we  should 
say  :  "  I  had  not  sufficient  grace  to  be  saved,"  God 
will  answer:  "  Why  did  you  not  ask  it  of  Me?" 
the  soul-insurance  ;  an  everlasting  torment  for  the 
damned,  seeing  how  easily  they  might  have  been 
saved  by  prayer.  "  Prayer  is,"  says  St.  John 
Climachus,  "  a  pious,  gentle  tyranny  towards  God, 
forcing  Him  to  give  up  to  us  everything,  even  Him- 
self." Hence  St.  Augustine  has  said  with  truth  : 
"What  can  be  more  excellent  than  prayer;  what 
more  profitable  to  our  life  ;  what  sweeter  to  our 
souls  ;  what  more  sublime,  in  the  course  of  our 
whole  life,  than  the  practice  of  prayer?" 

Being  well  convinced  of  this  truth,  Caspar  San- 


EULOGIUM    ON    PRAYER.  263 

ches,  S.  J.,  used  to  say  :  "  Give  me  all  the  goods  of 
the  earth,  and  let  them  last  forever,  and  I  will  give 
them  all  up  for  half  a  quarter  of  an  hour  of  my 
usual  prayer  and  communion  with  God."  In  like 
manner  said  Father  Francis  Suarez,  S.  J.  :  "I  am 
willing  to  lose  all  my  science  rather  than  one  hour 
of  prayer."  The  saintly  Priest  of  Ars,  named  Vi- 
anney,  used  to  say  :  "  All  the  happiness  of  man  on 
earth  cousists  in  prayer."  One  of  our  Fathers,  a 
holy  man  of  great  experience  often  repeated  :  ' ■  Sec- 
ular people  say,  '  in  the  convent  everything  is 
prayer  ;'  hut  we  must  reverse  their  words  and  say  : 
Prayer  is  everything  to  us  in  the  convent."  Corne- 
lius a  Lapide  says:  "The  gift  of  prayer  is  an 
immense  and  incomprehensible  grace  of  God." 
Scarcely  did  ever  any  Saint,  in  fewer  words,  bestow 
better  praise  on  prayer  than  St.  Alphonsus,  in  the 
preface  to  his  little  book  on  prayer  :  "I  have  pub- 
lished several  spiritual  works,  such  as  Visits  to  the 
Blessed  Sacrament ;  Considerations  on  the  Passion 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;  Glories  of  Mary ;  a  work 
against  the  Materialists  and  Deists,  with  other  de- 
vout little  treatises  ;  also,  a  little  work  on  the  In- 
fancy of  our  Saviour,  entitled  Novena  for  Christmas  ; 
another,  called  Preparation  for  death,  besides  the 
one  on  the  Eternal  Maxims,  very  useful  for  medita- 

or  for  sermons,  to  which  are  added  nine  dis- 
courses, suitable  during  seasons  of  divine  chastise- 

s.     But  I  am  of  opinion  that  I  never  wrote  a 


264  EULOGIUM   ON   PRAYER. 

more  useful  book  than  the  present,  in  which  I  speak 
of  prayer  as  a  necessary  and  certain  means  of  ob- 
taining salvation  and  all  the  graces  which  we  require 
for  that  object.  Would  to  God  it  were  in  my  power 
to  give  a  copy  of  it  to  every  Catholic  in  the  world, 
to  show  him  the  absolute  necessity  of  prayer  for 
salvation." 

Such  sentiments  of  the  Saints,  and  of  pious  souls, 
proceed  from  most  intimate  conviction,  and  the 
abundance  of  the  spiritual  gifts  and  graces  with 
which  their  hearts  are  overflowing  ;  and  it  is  un- 
doubtedly true  that  most  of  men,  could  they  see 
and  comprehend  but  one-half  of  the  happiness  of 
such  souls,  would  at  once  give  up  all  earthly  plea- 
sures and  advantages  to  enjoy  but  for  one  quarter  of 
an  hour  the  happiness  of  the  life  of  saintly  souls. 
Who,  after  all  this,  will  remain  still  cold,  careless 
and  indifferent  in  the  practice  of  prayer  ?  Most 
assuredly,  he  only  who  is  not  of  God,  and  loveth 
darkness  more  than  light ;  this  world  more  than 
his  soul ;  the  devil,  and  all  his  works  and  pomps, 
more  than  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth. 


[The  following  prayers  are  so  arranged  that  they  can  be  taken 
out  and  put  in  your  prayer-book  for  daily  use.] 


PRAYER 


TO   OBTAIN    THE    GRACE  OF  BEING   CONSTANT   IN   PRATER. 

OGOD  of  my  soul,  I  hope  in  Thy  goodness  that 
Thou  hast  pardoned  all  my  offences  against 
Thee,  and  that  I  am  now  in  a  state  of  grace.  I  thank 
Thee  for  it  with  all  my  heart,  and  I  hope  to  thank 
Thee  for  all  eternity  :  Misericordias  Domini  in  (ster- 
num cantabo.  I  know  that  I  have  fallen,  because  I 
have  not  had  recourse  to  Thee  when  I  was  tempted, 
to  ask  for  holy  perseverance.  For  the  future,  I 
lirmly  resolve  to  recommend  myself  always  to  Thee, 
and  especially  when  I  see  myself  in  danger  of  again 
offending  Thee.  I  will  always  fly  to  Thy  mercy, 
invoking  always  the  most  holy  names  of  Jesus  and 
Mary,  with  full  confidence  that  when  I  pray  Thou 
wilt  not  fail  to  give  me  the  strength  which  I  have 
not  of  myself  to  resist  my  enemies.  This  I  resolve 
and  promise  to  do.  But  of  what  use,  0  my  God, 
will  all  these  resolutions  and  promises  be,  if  Thou 
dost  not  assist  me  with  Thy  grace  to  put  them  in 
23* 


266  PRAYER. 

practice,  that  is,  to  have  recourse  to  Thee  in  all 
dangers  ?  Ah,  Eternal  Father  !  help  me,  for  the 
love  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  let  me  never  omit  recom- 
mending myself  to  Thee  whenever  I  am  tempted. 
I  know  that  Thou  dost  always  help  me  when  I  have 
recourse  to  Thee  ;  hut  my  fear  is,  that  I  should  for- 
get to  recommend  myself  to  Thee,  and  so  my  negli- 
gence will  be  the  cause  of  my  ruin,  that  is,  the  loss 
of  Thy  grace,  the  greatest  evil  that  can  happen  to 
me.  Ah,  by  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  give  me 
grace  to  pray  to  Thee  ;  but  grant  me  such  an  abun- 
dant grace  that  I  may  always  pray,  and  pray  as  I 
ought !  0  my  Mother  Mary,  whenever  I  have  had 
recourse  to  thee,  thou  hast  obtained  for  me  the  help 
which  has  kept  me  from  falling  !  Now  I  come  to 
beg  of  thee  to  obtain  a  still  greater  grace,  namely, 
that  of  recommending  myself  always  to  thy  Son 
and  to  thee  in  all  my  necessities.  My  Queen,  thou 
obtainest  all  thou  dost  desire  from  God  by  the  love 
thou  bearest  to  Jesus  Christ ;  obtain  for  me  now 
this  grace  which  I  beg  of  thee,  namely,  to  pray  al- 
ways, and  never  to  cease  praying  till  I  die.     Amen. 


PRAYER 

TO    BE    SAID     EVERY   DAY,    TO    OBTAIN    THE    GRACES 
NECESSARY   FOR   SALVATION. 

(38g  St.   ^Ipbonsus.) 

ETERNAL  Father,  Thy  Son  has  promised  that 
Thou  wilt  grant  us  all  the  graces  which  we  ask 
Thee  for  in  His  name.  In  the  name,  therefore,  and 
by  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ  I  ask  the  following 
graces  for  myself  and  for  all  mankind.  And  first,  I 
pray  Thee  to  give  me  a  lively  faith  in  all  that  the 
holy  Roman  Church  teaches  me.  Enlighten  me 
also,  that  I  may  know  the  vanity  of  the  goods  of  this 
world,  and  the  immensity  of  the  infinite  good  that 
Thou  art ;  make  me  also  see  the  deformity  of  the 
sins  I  have  committed,  that  I  may  humble  myself 
and  detest  them  as  I  ought  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  show  me  how  worthy  Thou  art  by  reason  of 
Thy  goodness,  that  I  should  love  Thee  with  all  my 
heart.  Make  me  know  also  the  love  Thou  hast 
borne  me,  that  from  this  day  forward  I  may  try  to 
be  grateful  for  so  much  goodness.  Secondly,  give 
me  a  firm  confidence  in  Thy  mercy  of  receiving  the 
pardon  of  my  sins,  holy  perseverance,  and  finally, 
the  glory  of  paradise,  through  the  merits  of  Jesus 


2G8  PRAYER. 

Christ  and  the  intercession  of  Mary.  Thirdly,  give 
me  a  great  love  towards  Thee,  which  shall  detach, 
me  from  the  love  of  this  world  and  of  myself,  so- 
that  I  may  love  none  other  hut  Thee,  and  that  I 
may  neither  do  nor  desire  anything  else  hut  what  is- 
for  Thy  glory.  Fourthly,  I  heg  of  Thee  a  perfect 
resignation  to  Thy  will,  in  accepting  with  tran- 
quility sorrows,  infirmities,  contempt,  persecutions, 
aridity  of  spirit,  loss  of  property,  of  esteem,  of  re- 
lations, and  every  other  cross  which  shall  come  to 
me  from  Thy  hands.  I  offer  myself  entirely  to 
Thee,  that  Thou  mayest  do  with  me,  and  all  that 
"belongs  to  me  what  Thou  pleasest ;  do  Thou  only 
give  me  light  and  strength  to  do  Thy  will  ;  and 
especially  at  the  hour  of  death  help  me  to  sacrifice 
my  life  to  Thee  with  all  the  affection  I  am  capable 
of,  in  union  with  the  sacrifice  which  Thy  Son  Jesus 
Christ  made  of  His  life  on  the  Cross  on  Calvary. 
Fifthly,  I  beg  of  Thee  a  great  sorrow  for  my  sins, 
which  may  make  me  grieve  over  them  as  long  as  I 
live,  and  weep  for  the  insults  I  have  offered  Thee, 
the  Sovereign  Good,  who  art  worthy  of  infinite  love, 
and  who  hast  loved  me  so  much.  Sixthly,  I  pray 
Thee  to  give  me  the  spirit  of  true  humility  and 
meekness,  that  I  may  accept  with  peace,  and  even 
with  joy,  all  the  contempt,  ingratitude  and  ill-treat- 
ment that  I  may  receive.  At  the  same  time  I  also 
pray  Thee  to  give  me  perfect  charity,  which  shall 
make  me  wish  well  to  those  who  have  done  evil  to* 


PRAYER. 


269 


me,  and  to  do  what  good  I  can,  at  least  by  praying, 
for  those  who  have  in  any  way  injured  me.  Sev- 
enthly, I  beg  of  Thee  to  give  me  a  love  for  the  vir- 
tue of  holy  mortification,  by  which  I  may  chastise 
my  rebellious  senses,  and  cross  my  self-love  ;  at  the 
same  time,  I  beg  Thee  to  give  me  holy  purity  of  body 
and  the  grace  to  resist  all  bad  temptations,  by  ever 
having  recourse  to  Thee  and  Thy  most  holy  Mother. 
Give  me  grace  faithfully  to  obey  my  spiritual  father 
and  all  my  superiors  in  all  things.  Give  me  an  up- 
right intention,  that  in  all  I  desire  and  do  I  may 
seek  only  Thy  glory,  and  to  please  Thee  alone. 
Give  me  a  great  confidence  in  the  Passion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  in  the  intercession  of  Mary  immaculate. 
Give  me  a  great  love  towards  the  most  Adorable 
Sacrament  of  the  Altar,  and  a  tender  devotion  and 
love  to  Thy  holy  Mother.  Give  me,  I  pray  thee, 
above  all,  holy  perseverance,  and  the  grace  always 
to  pray  for  it,  especially  in  time  of  temptation  and 
at  the  hour  of  death. 

Lastly,  I  recommend  to  Thee  the  holy  souls  of 
Purgatory,  my  relations  and  benefactors  ;  and  in  an 
especial  manner  I  recommend  to  Thee  all  those  who 
hate  me  or  who  have  in  any  way  offended  me ;  I  beg 
of  Thee  to  render  them  good  for  the  evil  they  have 
done,  or  may  wish  to  do  me.  Finally,  I  recommend 
to  Thee  all  infidels,  heretics,  and  all  poor  sinners  ; 
give  them  li^ht  and  strength  to  deliver  themselves 
from    sin.     Oh,  most   loving    God,    make   Thyself 


270 


PRAYER. 


knowQ  and  loved  by  all,  but  especially  by  those  who 
have  been  more  ungrateful  to  Thee  than  others,  so 
that  by  thy  goodness  I  may  come  one  day  to  sing 
Thy  mercies  in  Paradise  ;  for  my  hope  is  in  the 
merits  of  Thy  blood,  and  in  the  patronage  of  Mary. 

0  Mary,  Mother  of  God,  pray  to  Jesus  for  me  !    So 

1  hope  ;  so  may  it  be  ! 


PRAYER  OF  CHLODWIG,  (CLOVIS), 


ARMY   IN   IMMINENT    DANGER   OF   BEING   DEFEATED  BY 
THE   ALEMANNI. 

"  TESUS  CHRIST,  Thou  of  Whom  Chlotilde  (the 
tl  king's  Christian  wife)  has  often  told  me  that 
Thou  art  the  Son  of  the  living  God,  and  that  Thou 
givest  aid  to  the  hard-pressed  and  victory  to  those 
who  trust  in  Thee,  I  humbly  crave  Thy  powerful 
assistance.  If  Thou  grantest  me  the  victory  over 
my  enemies  I  will  believe  in  Thee  and  be  baptized 
in  Thy  name.  For  I  have  called  upon  my  gods  in 
vain.  They  must  be  impotent,  as  they  cannot  help 
those  who  serve  them.  Now  I  invoke  Thee,  de- 
siring to  believe  in  Thee  ;  do,  then,  deliver  me 
from  the  hands  of  my  adversaries." 


PRAYER.  271 

No  sooner  had  Chlodwig  uttered  this  prayer  than 
the  Alemanni  became  panic-stricken,  took  to  flight, 
and  soon  after,  seeing  their  king  slain,  sued  for 
peace.  Thereupon  Chlodwig  blended  both  nations, 
the  Franks  and  the  Alemanni  together — returned 
home  and  became  a  Christian.  Should  any  one  of 
my  readers  be  still  groping  in  the  darkness  of  un- 
belief or  error,  I  would  kindly  request  him  to  pray 
in  the  same  spirit,  adapting  King  Chlodwig's 
prayer  to  his  own  circumstances,  or  to  say  the  prayer 
which  F.  Thayer,  a  minister  of  the  Anglican 
Church,  used  to  say  when  he  was  yet  in  doubt  and 
uncertainty,  and  by  the  use  of  which  he  obtained 
for  himself  the  gift  of  faith. 


F.  THAYER'S  PRAYER 

FOR    C3-TJHD^.3SrOE    ITsTTO    TPlTJTIi. 

GOD  of  all  goodness,  almighty  and  eternal  Fa- 
ther of  mercies,  and  Saviour  of  mankind  ;  I 
implore  Thee,  by  Thy  sovereign  goodness,  to  en- 
lighten my  mind  and  to  touch  my  heart,  that,  by 
M  of  true  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  I  may  live 
and  die  in  the  true  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  con- 
fidently believe  that,  as  there  is  but  one  God,  there 
can  be  but  one  faith,  one  religion,  one  only  path  to 
and  that  every  other  path  opposed  thereto 


272  EJACULATION. 

can  lead  but  to  perdition.  This  path,  0  my  God,  I 
anxiously  seek  after,  that  I  may  follow  it,  and  be 
saved.  Therefore  I  protest  before  Thy  Divine  Ma- 
jesty, and  I  swear  by  all  Thy  divine  attributes,  that 
I  will  follow  the  religion  which  Thou  shalt  reveal 
to  me  as  the  true  one,  and  will  abandon,  at  what- 
ever cost,  that  wherein  I  shall  have  discovered 
errors  and  falsehood.  I  confess  that  I  do  not  de- 
serve this  favor  for  the  greatness  of  my  sins,  for 
which  I  am  truly  penitent,  seeing  they  offend  a  God 
Who  is  so  good,  so  holy,  and  so  worthy  of  love  ; 
but  what  I  deserve  not  I  hope  to  obtain  from  Thine 
infinite  mercy  ;  and  I  beseech  Thee  to  grant  it  unto 
me  through  the  merits  of  that  precious  Blood, 
which  was  shed  for  us  sinners  by  Thine  only  Son, 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  Who  liveth  and  reigneth, 
&c.     Amen. 

Truly,  such  a  sincere  and  bumble  prayer  will  not  remain  un- 
heard. 


EJACULATION. 

My  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  sake  of  Thy  suffer- 
ings,  grant  me  such  faith,  hope,  charity,  sorrow  for 
my  sins,  and  love  for  prayer,  as  will  save  and  sanc- 
tify my  soul. 

[It  would  be  well  to  repeat  this  ejaculation  often  in  the  course 
of  the  day.] 

■;NIV£RSITY  J 


fiL 


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